Moroccan military and security expert Mohammad Schkir has revealed that Morocco and Israel are about to sign a contract to co-produce the Kamikaze drone, Daily Defense News reported Monday. According to these sources, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz will Morocco and sign defense cooperation agreements that will cover launching the drone production as well as other projects.
The Kamikaze drone, a.k.a. the suicide drone, is a weapon system in the category of loitering munitions: the drone loiters over the target area for some time in search of its targets, and may launch an attack once the target is located—should its operators decide to do it. Loitering munitions offer fast reaction times against hidden targets that emerge for short periods, without having to mount a high-value operation near the target area. They also offer highly selective targeting as well as the option of aborting a mission in real-time.
The primary mission of a loitering munition is reaching the suspected target area, target acquisition during the loitering phase, and a self-destructive strike. The loitering munition is optimized to this type of mission, featuring a very short engine life, a silent strike, a speedy strike dive, preference of loitering time over range and speed, and affordable unit cost (one use only).
The Israeli Kamikaze drones were a major factor in Azerbaijan’s victory over Armenia in November 2020, which liberated the region of Nagorno-Karabakh after 30 years of occupation.
The formation of a new government in Morocco will likely be followed by DM Gantz’s visit to Rabat, Morocco, to sign the contract, Schkir told Defense News.
On September 3, the Indian Army ordered more than 100 tactical kamikaze drones from Israel, to beef up its operational capability along India’s borders with Pakistan and China. The loitering munition SkyStriker will be manufactured in Bengaluru by a joint venture between Israel’s Elbit System and India’s Alpha Design, which is part of the Adani Group.