Edge to integrate guided weapons on Moroccan UCAVs

A still from a video released by Edge shows a Desert Sting 16 guided bomb on a Bayraktar TB2. (Edge Group)

The Edge group will supply and integrate air-launched munitions on Morocco's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the Emirati company announced on 9 October.

Edge said in a statement that it signed a contract with Morocco's Administration of National Defence, which oversees military procurement, during the Marrakech Air Show to supply its Desert Sting 16 small guided bomb and Thunder bomb guidance kit to the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF's) and integrate the weapons across its fleet of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs).

The Thunders will be the P-31 version for 250 lb Mk 81 bombs, giving them a range of up to 10 km when launched from a UCAV, and have semi-active laser (SAL) guidance seekers. The Desert Sting 16s will also have the optional SAL seeker.

The RMAF is secretive about its UCAVs, but is known to operate the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 and larger Bayraktar Akıncı, as well as the Chinese-made Wing Loong II. All three types are also in service with the UAE's air force. The Moroccans also acquired Israeli-made Herons, although it has never been confirmed that these can carry weapons.

The Desert Sting has already been integrated on the TB2 for the UAE's air force, but there has been no previous indication that the Thunder series has been integrated with any unmanned aircraft.

Edge announced in May that it had signed an agreement covering the integration of its more-capable Al Tariq bomb-guidance kit on the Akıncı.

For more, please see: SAHA 2026: Baykar, Edge to integrate Al Tariq guided bomb with Akıncı UAV