Morocco to Receive 13 Bayraktar TB2 Combat Drones From Turkey

Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces (FAR) has signed a contract to buy 13 Bayraktar TB2 combat drones from Turkey, the service confirmed on social media.

The deal worth 626 million Moroccan dirhams ($70 million) includes four remote control ground stations, a configurable simulation system for flying the drones, and a digital system for tracking and storing information, Morocco World News reported. 

A drone operation center will also be set up at a Moroccan airbase.

The TB2 is a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled and autonomous operation.

Developed by the Turkish defense manufacturer Baykar, the TB2 can conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

For attack missions, it can be armed with anti-tank missiles, precision-guided missiles, and laser-guided rockets.

The drone can fly up to 220 kilometers (136 miles) per hour and stay in the air for up to 27 hours.

The drone played an important role in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan last year, providing Azeri forces with a pivotal advantage in destroying Armenian air defenses.

The announcement of the Turkish drone purchase comes a year after the North African nation received three Israeli-made Heron reconnaissance UAVs.

Due to the lack of diplomatic relations between Tel Aviv and Rabat at the time, the $48 million deal was struck through France, the Times of Israel reported. 

Meanwhile, in December 2020, Washington reportedly signaled its approval for the sale of four MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones to Morocco after Rabat normalized diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv, under a US-brokered peace agreement. 

Morocco had been in negotiation with the US for the sale of the drones for months.