It would mean a new key military agreement for the North African country, following advances in this area with other countries such as the United States

Marruecos está cerca de recibir el sistema defensivo israelí Cúpula de Hierro

photo_camera AFP/JALAA MAREY - An Israeli Iron Dome battery, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells, has been designed to intercept and destroy incoming rockets and artillery shells

Morocco is close to obtaining Israel's Iron Dome military defence system thanks to a very important military agreement that could be completed between the Maghreb nation and the Israeli state, in a further key step in the development of diplomatic ties between the two countries established under the auspices of the United States, which, during the administration of Donald Trump, reached an agreement with the Kingdom to support the formula of broad autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty in exchange for a rapprochement with the Israeli state. 

Morocco and Israel have already made significant progress in political, economic and even new technologies and cybersecurity. In recent weeks it has also been the turn of the military area; in fact, the Alawi kingdom has also decided to enter the suicide drone manufacturing industry with the cooperation of Israel through an agreement for the production of these aerial combat devices. And now comes information about the imminent supply of the Israeli Iron Dome system to the Moroccan army. 

Brigadas marroquíes

According to the media Rue 20, the company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is working with the General Inspectorate of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces, through Ariel Karo, executive vice-president of the Hebrew company, to work on the transfer of this military tool, which could be definitively completed by the visit of the Israeli Minister of Defence, Benny Gantz, to the Alawi kingdom. The transfer of the military technology needed to implement this system to control and defend national borders with a sophisticated remote-controlled radar system is being discussed, as reported by Rue 20.  

Rafael Advanced Systems is a military defence technology company that was founded as a research and development laboratory for the Ministry of Defence of the State of Israel to develop weapons and military technology within the Ministry of Defence. Rafael Corporation develops and produces military technologies for the Israel Defense Forces, as well as for export. All of its projects have been classified as top secret, which is normal in a country like Israel that is so careful about everything related to military and defence matters due to the complex situation it occupies on the Middle East map, with declared enemies such as the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, this situation is changing considerably after the latest Abraham Accords of mid-September 2020, sponsored by the United States, whereby the Israeli state established diplomatic ties with several Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which were later joined by Morocco, as part of this new spiral of good relations between Arab countries and Israel. 

Soldados estadounidenses en suelo marroquí

Iron Dome is a mobile air defence system developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems. It is a missile infrastructure designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells launched from long distances for bombing purposes.

This system is used by the State of Israel and, according to Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, Iron Dome is capable of intercepting more than 90% of the rockets launched against Israeli territory. Installed since 2011, this military mechanism works with a radar detection and analysis system that first detects rocket launches and then determines whether the trajectory of the rockets represents a threat to populated areas or important infrastructure. The Dome sends another missile to intercept and detonate them in mid-air.

Helicópteros Apache AH64E

The presence of the Iron Dome system could make the Moroccan perimeter impassable to any potential enemy missile attack. All this within the open framework of full cooperation between Morocco and Israel, enhanced by the establishment of strong diplomatic ties between the two nations. 

The Alawi kingdom has also recently signed important military equipment supply agreements with the United States. Thus, the American giant has agreed to deliver 24 combat helicopters to Morocco, as well as 25 F-16 aircraft.

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