Morocco boosts firepower with Israeli Merkava tanks
Morocco is planning to acquire several Israeli-made Merkava tanks to improve the military equipment of the Moroccan armed forces. A new development that continues to demonstrate the close cooperation that currently exists between the Moroccan kingdom and Israel, stemming from the understanding they reached under the auspices of the United States more than two years ago.
The Moroccan state and Cyprus will be the recipients of this type of tank, which Israel had already relegated to the reserve when it incorporated the new model of this armoured vehicle. Jerusalem plans to sell Rabat tanks of this type after decommissioning them, as reported by El Español.
In this way, the Moroccan kingdom continues to strengthen its military equipment thanks to all kinds of weapons it is acquiring from countries such as the United States, France and Israel. In an attempt to catch up with the Maghreb's great regional rival, Algeria, a country with a powerful army. The Moroccan nation suffers from the potential Algerian threat, especially after the state led by the Armed Forces, commanded by Said Chengriha, and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune broke off diplomatic relations with the Kingdom in August 2011 after accusing it of 'hostile acts' and irreconcilable political differences, especially over the Western Sahara issue.
Over the past few years, Morocco has accumulated a lot of support in the international sphere. Especially after Donald Trump's US administration recognised the Moroccan sovereignty of the Sahara in December 2020 in exchange for the Moroccan kingdom establishing political ties with Israel, following in the wake of the Abraham Accords, signed in September 2020, by which important Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain established diplomatic ties with the Israeli state with the aim of pacifying the Middle East region and fostering its social and economic development in the area.
In addition, Morocco has seen how several nations have supported its initiative for Western Sahara, based on broad autonomy for the territory under Moroccan sovereignty, considering it to be the "most serious, credible and realistic" way to settle the Saharawi dispute. This is in contrast to the proposal of the Polisario Front, which advocates holding a referendum on independence among the Sahrawi population, which has less support, including from the great regional rival, Algeria.
Israel has already been negotiating the sale of some 200 of its Merkava Mk2 battle tanks, a version with more than 40 years of service, and required US approval because of some of the armoured vehicle's components.
The Merkava is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Four different versions have been in use since the early 1980s. "Merkava" was the name by which the project developed by the Israel Defense Forces was known, and was eventually the name given to the tank. These Israeli-built armoured vehicles have been out of service for a decade, but have been refurbished for possible export, in this case to Morocco and Cyprus.
Prototypes of this model were built from 1974, with the Merkava I entering service in 1979. Subsequently, a version with improved armour and sights was developed, called the Merkava II. There are three sub-models that differ in the type of armour.
In 1989, the Merkava III appeared, equipped with a 120 mm gun and a more powerful engine, as well as improved fire direction and armour. The latest version, the Merkava IV, was equipped with a new engine and armour, and was delivered in 2004. The latest models of the Merkava IV have been fitted with an active defence system which, using sensors in the turret, detects approaching missiles or grenades and triggers the launch of explosive devices to destroy the threat. In addition, the latest models have a long firing range, reaching targets at distances of up to 8 kilometres.
