In first, Israeli firms, delegation display at Morocco’s Marrakech Airshow

The Israeli pavilion at the Marrakech Air Show. (Israeli MoD)

JERSUALEM — For the first time, Israel’s Ministry of Defense has sent a delegation and a national pavilion to the Marrakech Airshow, which opened today.

“This marks Israel’s first official participation in the defense exhibition held in Morocco since the signing of the Abraham Accords,” Israel’s Ministry of Defense said. Yair Kulas, the head of the ministry’s SIBAT office , praised this first participation in the Moroccan exhibition, calling it a “milestone” for Israel’s defense industry.

The ministry continued that the “opening of the Israeli national pavilion at the Marrakech Airshow is part of the IMOD’s strategy to increase defense exports and defense cooperation with countries worldwide.” The ministry added that this strategy will also strengthen the Israel Defense Forces and influence foreign policy, noting, “During the exhibition, meetings were held with delegations and government officials from various countries.”

Morocco joined the Abraham Accords in December 2020, three months after Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to the historic Accords to normalize ties with Israel.

Despite almost six full years of official relations, Moroccan-Israeli defense ties are often not mentioned in either country’s media for security and sensitive reasons. Some of the rare instances of the countries’ media presence include in 2023 when a dozen Israeli soldiers joined the US-led African Lion exercise. And reports over the last year have indicated that Morocco acquired IAI’s Barak MX air defense system, may have acquired Israeli drones and partnered with an Israeli drone maker and may have other partnerships with Israel’s defense industry.

Hence, Israel highlighting its presence at the Marrakech Airshow stands out. Israel’s defense industry has seen historically high exports over the last several years, even though Israel has also faced some controversy at arms shows abroad. France, for instance, banned Israel from Eurosatory in February.

Eight Israeli companies exhibited at the Marrakech Air Show, which has taken place biennially since 2008 and attracts more than 200 exhibitors from two dozen countries. Morocco is the second largest spender on defense in Africa, spending over $6 billion on defense last year, according to SIPRI figures.

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Israel’s Ministry of Defense noted in a statement that the Israeli companies showcased combat-proven technologies “including loitering munitions, AI-powered robotic systems, autonomous navigation capabilities for UAVs, laser guidance for FPV drones, satellite communications, and more.”

The Israeli pavilion included ASIO Technologies, Orbit Communication Systems, Shilat Optronics, Uvision Air and Xtend Systems. Speaking broadly, all five companies provide the kind of small drone or loitering munition systems that have come to define battlefields in Ukraine and Gaza.

Additionally, the three largest Israeli defense firms — Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Elbit Systems and IAI — have their own booths set up at the show.

Rafael showcased its air defense systems in Morocco, including its Spyder system which has been sold to Greece and Romania recently. The company noted that the system “integrates radar, command and control and launcher on a single vehicle, together with the interceptors for its common launcher.” In addition to other systems, such as targeting pods and missiles, Rafael also mentioned an interceptor drone called Hunter Eagle as part of its solution for smaller drone threats.

“Rafael builds for the battlefield as it is now and as it will be in the future. Every system we brought to Marrakech, from laser interception to long-range precision strike, was shaped by operational battlefield experience,” Yoav Tourgeman , Rafael’s CEO, said in a statement, adding that the company views its participation as laying the groundwork for future collaboration.

Elbit brought its large Hermes drone, as well as its entire line of smaller drones under what it calls its FUSE line of “military-grade autonomous systems designed for scalable deployment.” In addition, Elbit highlighted its Mini-MUSIC airborne self-protection system, which uses directed-energy countermeasures.

“At Marrakech Air Show 2026, Elbit Systems will showcase capabilities spanning unmanned and autonomous systems, precision fires, airborne protection and electronic warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), electro-optics, communications and digitalization, as well as advanced training and simulation,” the company said in a statement.

IAI did not put out a statement detailing the wares it’s showing off.

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马拉喀什航展上的以色列展馆。（以色列国防部）

耶路撒冷——以色列国防部首次派代表团和国家展馆参加今天开幕的马拉喀什航展。

以色列国防部表示：“这是自《亚伯拉罕协议》签署以来，以色列首次正式参加在摩洛哥举行的防务展。”该部下属的以色列国防工业局（SIBAT）局长亚伊尔·库拉斯对以色列首次参加摩洛哥防务展表示赞赏，称其为以色列国防工业的“里程碑”。

该部继续表示，“在马拉喀什航展上开设以色列国家馆是以色列国防部旨在增加国防出口和与世界各国开展国防合作的战略的一部分。”该部补充说，这一战略还将加强以色列国防军并影响外交政策，并指出，“在航展期间，我们与来自多个国家的代表团和政府官员举行了会晤。”

摩洛哥于 2020 年 12 月加入《亚伯拉罕协议》，此前三个月，以色列、阿拉伯联合酋长国和巴林同意签署历史性协议，实现与以色列关系正常化。

尽管摩洛哥和以色列建交已近六年，但出于安全和敏感原因，两国媒体很少提及两国之间的防务关系。两国媒体罕见地提及防务合作的情况包括：2023年，十几名以色列士兵参加了由美国主导的“非洲雄狮”联合军演。过去一年的报道显示，摩洛哥已采购以色列航空航天工业公司（IAI）的“巴拉克MX”防空系统，可能还采购了以色列无人机，并与一家以色列无人机制造商建立了合作关系，此外，摩洛哥可能还与以色列国防工业存在其他合作关系。

因此，以色列在马拉喀什航展上的亮相显得尤为引人注目。尽管以色列在海外军展上也面临一些争议，但近年来其国防工业的出口额一直处于历史高位。例如，法国在今年2月禁止以色列参加欧洲防务展（Eurosatory）。

八家以色列公司参加了马拉喀什航展。该航展自2008年以来每两年举办一次，吸引了来自二十多个国家的200多家参展商。根据斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所（SIPRI）的数据，摩洛哥是非洲第二大国防支出国，去年国防开支超过60亿美元。

为什么在无人机时代，更高的围栏还不够？

传统的设施保护理念必须适应无人机或下游攻击等新威胁。

以色列国防部在一份声明中指出，以色列公司展示了经过实战检验的技术，“包括巡飞弹、人工智能机器人系统、无人机自主导航能力、FPV无人机激光制导、卫星通信等等”。

以色列展馆的参展商包括ASIO Technologies、Orbit Communication Systems、Shilat Optronics、Uvision Air和Xtend Systems。总的来说，这五家公司都提供小型无人机或巡飞弹系统，而这类系统已成为乌克兰和加沙战场上的标志性武器。

此外，以色列三大国防企业——拉斐尔先进防御系统公司、埃尔比特系统公司和以色列航空工业公司——也在展会上设立了自己的展位。

拉斐尔公司在摩洛哥展示了其防空系统，其中包括近期已售往希腊和罗马尼亚的“蜘蛛”（Spyder）系统。该公司指出，该系统“将雷达、指挥控制系统和发射装置集成在一辆车上，并配备了用于该通用发射装置的拦截弹”。除了瞄准吊舱和导弹等其他系统外，拉斐尔公司还提及了一款名为“猎鹰”（Hunter Eagle）的拦截无人机，作为其应对小型无人机威胁的解决方案的一部分。

“拉斐尔公司致力于打造适应当前及未来战场环境的装备。我们带到马拉喀什的每一套系统，从激光拦截到远程精确打击，都凝聚了实战经验，”拉斐尔公司首席执行官约阿夫·图尔格曼在一份声明中表示，并补充说，该公司认为此次参会是为未来的合作奠定基础。

埃尔比特系统公司带来了其大型 Hermes 无人机，以及其全系列小型无人机，这些无人机均归入其所谓的 FUSE 产品线，该产品线是“专为可扩展部署而设计的军用级自主系统”。此外，埃尔比特系统公司还重点展示了其 Mini-MUSIC 机载自卫系统，该系统采用定向能对抗措施。

“在2026年马拉喀什航展上，埃尔比特系统公司将展示其在无人和自主系统、精确火力、空中防护和电子战、情报、监视和侦察（ISR）、光电、通信和数字化以及先进培训和模拟等方面的能力，”该公司在一份声明中表示。

IAI并未发布声明详细说明其展示的产品。

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