Morocco to Buy 25 Military Recovery Vehicles from BAE Systems for $240M

Morocco will procure 25 M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System (HERCULES) vehicles and/or M88A1 long supply HERCULES refurbished vehicles and related equipment from BAE Systems for an estimated $240 million.

The contract was approved by the United States on Tuesday. "The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Morocco of twenty five (25) M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System (HERCULES) vehicles and/or M88A1 long supply HERCULES refurbished vehicles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $239.35 million," Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement.

The Government of Morocco had requested to buy twenty five (25) M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System (HERCULES) vehicles and/or M88A1 long supply HERCULES refurbished vehicles; and twenty-five (25) M2 .50 caliber machine guns.

Also included are twenty five (25) export Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS); twenty five (25) AN/PSN-13A Defense Advanced Global Positioning System (GPS) Receiver (DAGR) with Selective-Availability/Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM); thirty (30) AN/VAS-5B Driver Vision Enhancer (DVE) kits; twenty five (25) M239 or M250 smoke grenade launchers; one thousand eight hundred (1,800) M76 (G826) or L8A1/L8A3 (G815) smoke grenade rounds; spare parts; support equipment; depot level support; Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE); repair parts; communication support equipment; communication equipment integration; tools and test equipment; training; training simulators; repair and return program; US Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services; Technical Assistance Field Team (TAFT); and other related elements of logistics and program support.

Additionally, the following recommended basic load ammunition may be included upon request from customer:  twenty five thousand (25,000) A576 cartridges, .50 caliber linked 4 API/API-T F/M2; three hundred (300) G815 - grenade, smoke screening L8A1/A3; two thousand five hundred (2,500) A541 - 50 armor piercing incendiary, tracer M20 F/M2; ninety-one thousand eight hundred (91,800) A557 - cartridge, .50 caliber 4 ball/1 tracer linked M33 F/M2; fifty four thousand (54,000) A598 - cartridge, .50 caliber blank F/M2; other technical assistance and support equipment; and other related elements of logistics and program support. 

Morocco intends to use these defense articles and services to modernize its armed forces by updating their combat vehicle recovery capability in pace with their armored unit upgrades.

The principal contractor will be BAE, York, Pennsylvania.  The purchaser typically requests offsets.  Any offset agreement will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and the contractor(s), DSCA said.