NEWSRAEL: This deal overshadows the recent demonstrations in Morocco against Israel, and again shows the strength of Israel-Morocco ties.
According to the terms of the contract, Israel Aerospace Industries will supply the "Ofek 13" spy satellite, which will replace the Moroccan's "Mohammed VI-A" and "Mohammed VI-B" satellites manufactured by the French companies Airbus and Thales, the Moroccan news sites Le Desk and Le 360 reported.
Morocco intends to purchase the spy satellite from the Aerospace Industry (TAA) in a deal worth one billion dollars, Moroccan media reported on Wednesday.
State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (ISRAI.UL) confirmed on Tuesday that it had agreed on a $1 billion deal to supply one of its systems to an "unidentified party".
The IAI, which manufactures some of the most advanced UAV and missile systems in Israel, stated that the deal will be implemented for five years.
According to the terms of the contract, IAI will supply the "Ofek 13" spy satellite, which will replace two satellites from Airbus and Thales that will soon reach the "end of their lives", the Moroccan news sites Le Desk and Le 360 reported from Israeli sources in Rabat.
The head of the Israeli mission in Rabat and the Moroccan Foreign Ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The two giant French companies, Airbus and Thales, that participated in this tender lost, and Rabat did not even want to accept the proposal of the Armaments Administration (DGA), which sought to lobby in favor of the proposals of the French groups, according to the French magazine "La Tribune".
However, it seems that this did not help the two French teams, who hoped to return to the race due to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
"Ofek-13" is part of the Israeli intelligence satellite system. As a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite, it can take high-resolution images of objects as small as 20 to 60 cm from space.
This request indicates Morocco's move towards strengthening its capabilities in the field of surveillance and intelligence gathering.
It operates day and night, and in all weather conditions, and provides a continuous flow of intelligence data. It also allows the release of electromagnetic beams from the satellite to the Earth, allowing subtle changes to be detected.