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Morocco has signed a $1 billion defense contract with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), according to Israeli and French media.
According to The Times of Israel, Amir Peretz, head of IAI and a former Israeli minister of defense, economy, and industry, may have recently «made a secret trip to Morocco to finalize the agreement».
The company also informed the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in a press release of the billion-dollar deal, without specifying details or the name of the acquiring country, to avoid protests in Morocco. However, Israeli media outlets such as Calcalist quoted security sources indicating that it is indeed Morocco.
The deal stipulates that Morocco will receive two Ofek 13 spy satellites that will replace those currently in service, built by France's Airbus and Thales, which are nearing the end of their lifespan.
The French newspaper La Tribune expressed disappointment that the two French companies lost the deal, saying that «Rabat did not even want to receive the delegation of the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA)» because of the strained Moroccan-French relations at the time.
Thales and Airbus sold two spy satellites to Morocco in 2013 for more than 500 million euros. The first satellite was launched in November 2017, and the second a year later, in November 2018.
IAI manufactures some of the most advanced anti-missile systems and drones in Israel's arsenal. The agreement between the company and Morocco will be implemented over five years. This is the largest contract between the two countries since the Abraham Accords at the end of 2020.
According to the Israeli economic daily Globes, the sale of the two Israeli satellites «will be flavored with revenge against France, which banned the participation of Israeli companies in the recent European Arms Fair in Paris last month».
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in recent years, Israel has been the third largest arms exporter to Morocco.
In 2022, Israel Aerospace Industries agreed with Morocco to deliver Barak air defense systems worth $540 million, and Israel has also sold Heron drones to the kingdom.
