Morocco renews its fleet of spy satellites with the help of Israel rather than France
The exclusive news spread in France that the manufacture of Morocco's two new spy satellites has been contracted to Israeli industry, which, if corroborated, is a serious setback for the expectations of the French space sector, is shrouded in absolute silence.
The news has not been officially confirmed or denied by the influential Abdellatif Loudiyi, the man appointed in December 2010 by Morocco's monarch, Mohammed VI, to the post of Minister of National Defence.
Nor has the signing of the contract been ratified or refuted by any senior official in the government of Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch - in office since October 2021 - let alone by the cabinet of Benjamin Natanyahu, Israel's head of government, who is now focused on defeating the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.
The Rabat government's purchase of a pair of spy satellites is the latest strategic step by Mohammed VI in his long-running process of major investments to reinforce, improve and diversify the Royal Armed Forces' air-ground, naval and space defence capabilities.
The new reconnaissance spacecraft will replace the two remaining in orbit, the 1,110-kilogram Mohammed VI-A and Mohammed VI-B, which were positioned at 620 kilometres and launched in November 2017 and 2018, respectively. Costing around €500 million, with a resolution of 70 centimetres and based on the Pleiades platform, both were manufactured by the consortium formed by Airbus Defence and Space France and Thales Alenia Space France.
Israel Aerospace Industries wins the day
But now, the group of Israeli companies that would be the beneficiaries of the second contract - of which the amount is also unknown - would be led by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the most important industrial corporation in the aerospace and defence sector in the Middle East.
IAI markets its Ofek electro-optical spy satellites to third countries under the name Shalom, also known as OptSat-3000. Weighing some 370 kilos and positioned at an altitude of between 475 and 500 kilometres, they offer a resolution of 40 centimetres, as well as geolocation of positions on the ground. In addition, they have the potential to generate synergies with the second-generation Italian COSMO-SkyMed radar constellation, subject to agreement with the Italian Ministry of Defence and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).
The information on the new spacecraft that Morocco is said to have entrusted to Israel was reported a few days ago by the French newspaper La Tribune, which has the confidence of sources very close to the Elysée Palace, the French Ministry of Defence and its aerospace and defence industry.
It should be noted that, according to La Tribune, the signature of the contract between IAI and the government of Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch took place 'at the end of the summer' and therefore predates the bloody Hamas terrorist attacks of 7 October. However, Morocco's request for bids for new spy satellites dates back to the beginning of this year.
The invitation to tender issued by the Rabat government was addressed to the international market, but only to a small group of satellite manufacturers. It was issued by the Moroccan defence ministry's organisation that has been acting as a space agency since its creation in December 1989, the Royal Centre for Remote Sensing in Space, or CRTS for short.
The United States and Israel, two of Morocco's major backers
Among the companies that received the specifications and basic requirements for access to the tender were, of course, IAI, as well as Airbus Defence and Space France and Thales Alenia Space France. The terms of the contract also included the cost of putting the two satellites into orbit, the equipment to monitor them and the training of the Moroccan technicians responsible for their control.
But what is the point of making public now the result of an international tender in which Israel's bid won several months ago over France's? From a Paris media outlet and in the midst of the Netanyahu government's war against Hamas terrorists? While La Tribune says the contract seems "definitely lost", industry executives consulted are unanimous in their responses.
They consider this to be a "self-serving leak", the aim of which would be "not to consider the contract a failure" for the interests of Airbus Defence And Space France and Thales Alenia Space France, and to try "to get Morocco to revoke its commitment to IAI before it enters into force". This would be an attempt by the Elysée to "gather support in the North African country", in parallel to showing its best disposition to "redirect relations with Rabat", which have deteriorated significantly in recent years. In short, to do everything possible to "assert and even improve the offer of French industry".
But it will not be easy. It is worth recalling that on 23 March 2022, Morocco's Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour and IAI Chairman and CEO Amir Peretz and Boaz Levy, respectively, signed a framework agreement initiating a 'new phase of strategic and economic cooperation'.
In addition, through the intercession of the Trump Administration and the framework of the Abraham Accords, Morocco and Israel made a joint declaration on 22 December 2020 committing to establish full diplomatic relations. They did so shortly thereafter. The following year, they already signed a security and military cooperation agreement, which has benefited Moroccan industry and filled their arsenals with Israeli weapons systems.
Morocco's new spy satellites would thus be the fruit of the new era of close cooperation with Israel, which entails a strengthening of political, economic and military ties between the two countries. With Washington on the one hand and Jerusalem on the other, the Rabat government is in a position to dose, expand and diversify its two major sources of arms and equipment supplies, including in the strategic space sector.