Morocco wants to order two additional submarines for its fleet. russia is on the list of potential suppliers with its Amur-class export project based on diesel-electric submarines of 677 Lada project.
Morocco has traditionally been focused on the United States in terms of arms supplies, so the option of purchasing russian submarines seemed unlikely before. However, the geopolitical changes in the world are now playing in russia’s favor, meaning the option of supplying Amur-1650 submarines may soon be realized, Infodefensa reports.
According to the authors of the publication, five countries are currently competing for the right to supply two submarines for Morocco. In addition to russia, there are also France’s Naval Group with its Scorpene diesel-electric submarine project, Germany’s TKMS with its Type 1400 submarines, and Greece and Portugal (but these two countries offer used submarines from their fleets).
It is also reported that the French Naval Group, as part of a contract for submarines with the Moroccan Navy, hopes to acquire a new shipyard in Casablanca for its use. The value of the potential order and the terms of its execution have not been disclosed.
According to The Military Balance 2024, Morocco currently has no submarines of its own, the Greek fleet has 10 submarines (all of them belong to the German Type 209/214 project), and Portugal has only two submarines (both belong to the German Type 214 project).
russia has been seeking export buyers for the Amur-1650 since the 2000s, but has had no success until now. It is interesting that russia began construction of one submarine of this design in 2005, but it was halted at 47% completion. As of 2023, the hull of this submarine remains at the JSC Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg.
The basic difference between the Amur-1650 project and the Lada 677 project is the presence of 10 vertical launchers for missiles. Other declared characteristics of the Amur-1650:
– The hull’s length and width are 58.8 meters and 5.7 meters, respectively;
– Displacement – 970 tons;
– The crew is 18 people;
– Сruising speed and autonomy – up to 20 knots and up to 45 days, respectively;
– Armament – four 533-mm torpedo tubes with a 16-torpedo reserve (and 10 missile launchers).
Earlier War News Hub reported that russia might have decommissioned one of its last two Baltic Sea destroyers.