Morocco Receives First Batch of Barak MX Air and Missile Defense Systems From Israel
Morocco has received the first batch of the Barak MX air and missile defense system developed by Israel-based Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The development was announced in a post on the Far-Maroc forum’s Facebook page, the semi-official page of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.
The delivery in question was made as part of a contract worth more than $500 million signed in 2022 as a consequence of negotiations following the “normalization” agreement between the Moroccan and Israeli governments in 2020. Currently, training sessions for Moroccan military personnel are underway to familiarize them with the operation of the Barak MX system. These training activities are carried out in both Morocco and Israel in order to facilitate rapid integration into Royal Moroccan Army artillery units. The training sessions are expected to be finished by the end of 2023.
During the normalization process, Morocco also purchased several other defense products from Israel, including the Alinet electronic warfare system, the Skylock Dome anti-drone system, the Heron UAV, the Harop kamikaze UAV, the WanderB and ThunderB VTOL UAV.
The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces are expected to deploy this new air and missile defense system at the new air defense base it has established in Sidi Yahya al-Gharb, northeast of Rabat. Morocco currently has the Sky Dragon 50 (DK-10) medium-range surface-to-air missile system and the FD-2000B (HQ-9 export variant) long-range air defense system purchased from China, as well as the VL Mika short-range missile defense system purchased from France, at this airbase. This new base will also house Patriot missile systems from the United States.
The Barak MX air and missile defense system, based on Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) BARAK family, protects ground assets against a wide range of threats, including aircraft, UAVs, helicopters, guided and unguided munitions, subsonic and supersonic cruise missiles, and more. The system includes state-of-the-art radar, command and control systems, and mobile missile launch platforms. BARAK MX is an air defense missile system capable of using three air defense missiles with different ranges. These air defense missiles are the BARAK MRAD, which has a single-pulse rocket engine and a range of 35 kilometers, the BARAK LRAD, which has a double-pulse rocket engine and a range of 70 kilometers, and the BARAK ER, which has a range of 150 kilometers and can intercept tactical ballistic missiles. All of these missiles have 360° coverage, fast response time, low radar cross section and vertical launch capabilities supporting an active high-level RF seeker for highly maneuverable targets.