Morocco negotiates the acquisition of the Turkish drone Akinci
Morocco has begun talks with the Turkish company Baykar to acquire the Akinci combat drone, as reported by Hespress. This unmanned aircraft entered service in 2021 and is considered the 'jewel' of the Turkish military arsenal. Due to its capabilities, other countries such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have already acquired several units.
According to the description of the company that manufactures it, Turkey's Baykar, Akinci is a high-altitude unmanned combat aerial vehicle with extended endurance, equipped with artificial intelligence and capable of carrying out operations with combat aircraft in air-to-ground and air-to-air strike missions.
The drone, which weighs 4.5 tonnes, is capable of deploying a payload of 1,500kg, including 400kg of internal cargo and 950kg of external cargo, with an airframe equipped with two turboprop engines. It also has electronic support that will allow it to carry satellite communication systems, air-to-air radar, obstacle detection radar, synthetic aperture radar.
The Akinci is capable of reducing the payload of fighter aircraft, and can also carry out aerial bombing. According to the Moroccan media, it could also be used by Morocco for air-to-air missions.
In 2021, the Kingdom has already acquired 19 units of Bayraktar TB2 drones from the Baykar company. In this regard, last June, the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (FAR) also acquired SPY-X kamikaze drones manufactured by the Israeli company Bluebird Aero Systems, following negotiations that began in 2021. Rabat has also acquired unmanned aircraft from other countries such as China and France. It has even positioned itself as the leading drone manufacturer in Africa.
As reported late last year by The Wall Street Journal, Rabat has reportedly reached an agreement with two leading Israeli companies in the manufacture of both attack and defence drones to build two drone factories in Morocco, which would make the Kingdom the continent's leading drone manufacturing nation.
Morocco's new military capabilities come at a time of tension in the region, with reports of Iranian drones in the area in the hands of the Polisario Front, something Rabat has warned about and denounced on several occasions.
