Morocco approved for $986M buys of F-16 ammo, TOW missiles

Sept. 12 (UPI) -- The State Department has approved potential foreign military sales to Morocco worth $986M for TOW Missiles and additional F-16 ammunition.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced both sales foreign military sales on Thursday, after they notified Congress of the potential deals.

At $209 million, the F-16 ammunition sale would deliver to the Moroccan government 5,810 MK82-1 bombs, 300 MK84-4 Bombs, 180 MXU-651B/B AirFoil Groups, 4,125 MXU-650C/B AFGs, 4,305 MAU-169L/B Computer Control Groups and 5,178 FMU-152 Fuzes.

The deal would also include engineering technical and support services, and other elements of logistics and transportation and program support.

The TOW-2A missiles sale, which totals an estimated $776 million, would provide 2,401 TOW 2A, Radio Frequency Missiles; 28 TOW 2A, Radio Frequency Missiles; and 400 TOW Launchers and possibly 400 M41 Improved Target Acquisition System Launchers.

Each sale would allow Morocco to combat future violent terrorist threats from extremist groups throughout the region, according to DSCA. They will also help the non-NATO ally to maintain political stability in North Africa. Overall, the agency said the upgrades will assist the national security efforts of the United States.

The ammunition sale will supply the 23 aircraft in Morocco's Royal Fleet. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter jet.

The TOW missile system is a long-precision, heavy anti-tank assault weapon that deploys guided missiles.