The UAE defence group EDGE has signed a contract to supply guided bombs for Morocco’s armed drones, it said in a release carried by the UAE’s state news agency on 9 October. It signed with Morocco’s Administration of National Defence, the body that buys for the Royal Armed Forces, at the Marrakech Air Show.
The contract covers two weapons. The Desert Sting 16 is a 23 kg glide bomb with a range of up to 15 km. The Thunder P-31 is a kit that turns a Mk 81 bomb into a guided weapon, reaching 10 km when dropped from a drone and 20 km from a fast, high-flying aircraft.
Both steer by satellite-aided inertial navigation, with an optional laser seeker, and both are made in the UAE.
EDGE will also modify the Royal Moroccan Air Force’s combat drones and their software to carry and use the weapons. The release does not say which drones, how many weapons, or what Morocco is paying. Saif Al Dahbashi, who runs EDGE’s missiles and weapons business, promised “assured supply and long-term sustainment”.
Africa is one of EDGE’s priority markets, the company says. In Angola it is delivering a €1 billion naval programme of three corvettes and six HT-100 uncrewed helicopters.
