Morocco purchase Israel's Skylock Dome anti-drone system

Morocco has purchased Israel's Skylock Dome anti-drone system, the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

The military said it has acquired five of the handheld devices, which identify and neutralise unauthorised drones.

It said the system will boost its defence and preserve national stability.

"This acquisition is part of the strengthening of the FAR's capacities to protect the kingdom's critical and sensitive facilities, whether civilian or military," Far-Maroc Forum said in a post.

"The kingdom is intensifying its purchases of unmanned anti-aircraft systems or drones, which have become a threat in terms of their ability to recognise or attack with the difficulty of targeting them by conventional defense systems," it added.

According to Israeli news outlet Globes, the system was first unveiled in February in the UAE at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) - a public security and weapons show held every two years in Abu Dhabi.

The move came after Morocco and Israel normalised ties in a controversial deal last year.

The agreement, which was slammed by Palestinians as a betrayal to their cause, saw the US agree to recognise Morocco' ownership of the disputed Western Sahara region.

Israel and Morocco had low-level diplomatic relations in the 1990s, but Morocco cut them off after the second Palestinian uprising erupted in 2000.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz is expected to visit Morocco later this week and sign an agreement with his counterpart on enhancing security cooperation with Morocco.