The Royal Armed Forces of Morocco will receive cutting-edge equipment worth more than $500 million according to a transaction approved by the US State Department.

The package contains HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) and related equipment. On Tuesday, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency officially announced the transaction after providing the requisite clearance to the US Congress.

The agreement comprises a variety of cutting-edge military hardware, according to the Moroccan government’s purchase order, including 36 M31A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, 40 Army M57 Tactical Missile Systems, and 18 M142 High Mobility Rocket Launchers.

36 M30A2 Guided Missiles, 40 M28A2 Low-Cost Low-Range Portfolio Missiles, and radios with a similar “SINCGARS” capability are also included in the package. The package also includes twenty-four individual radio, long-range GPS vehicle systems and 35 long-range vehicle radio systems.

By enhancing the security of a crucial non-NATO ally that is essential to advancing political stability and economic development in Africa, the proposed arrangement will advance the foreign policy and national security goals of the United States.

The nation’s ability to recognize threats and manage its borders will also improve thanks to this military hardware, which will help Morocco to successfully counter both current and foreseeable challenges while also promoting stability and security in the region.

With the main objective of combating terrorism and violent extremist organizations active in the Maghreb and Sahel regions, the agreement will also improve cooperation between the Royal Armed Forces and US forces.

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The Spanish magazine ‘Defensa’ reported that Morocco wants to benefit from India’s experience in manufacturing military vehicles locally, as part of the Royal Armed Forces’ strategy to qualify its military arsenal over the next decade.

Defensa magazine noted that advanced negotiations are underway with Indian companies to produce armoured vehicles for the Moroccan armed forces to be manufactured in the country, with the possibility of making Morocco an export platform, especially to other African countries.

In order to diversify the sources of supply of weapons systems, Rabat has chosen in recent years to increase its cooperation with India in the field of defence. Last year, the Indian company TATA Advanced Systems supplied LPTA-715 tactical military transport trucks to the Moroccan army, and earlier this year it supplied 90 Tata LPTA 2445 6×6 tactical transport trucks, the Spanish magazine reports.

The Spanish magazine specialising in military affairs stresses that the strengthening of military cooperation between Morocco and India in recent times is evidenced by various indicators, the latest being the statements of the Moroccan minister in charge of investments, Mohcine Jazouli, during the official visit to India, on the existence of talks between Morocco and India to reach an industrial agreement. According to the two parties, this agreement would allow for the domestic manufacture of military vehicles.

The two countries have raised the level of their defence cooperation by signing several agreements over the past three years, and strengthening this relationship in various areas, including cyber security, space technology, infrastructure development and joint financing of defence projects and industries, as military cooperation and trade in weapons and military equipment between Morocco and India is an important factor in strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries with the aim of achieving mutual economic benefits, the magazine “Defensa” adds.

Morocco is preparing to enter the world of military industrialisation in the coming years, in an effort to achieve self-sufficiency in defence industries, instead of depending on foreign imports, which will make it a rising military power in the region.

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Intensive meetings are taking place at the headquarters of the Royal Armed Forces’ Southern Region in Agadir these days in preparation for the 18th edition of the African Lion 2022 maneuvers, which are part of the joint military exercises between Morocco and the United States of America.

High-ranking military officials from both countries met for an extended meeting at the Southern Command yesterday, Monday, October 25, 2021, to finalize all details for the continent’s largest military event.

Get ready for African Lion 2022! Planning for the return of the largest military exercise in Africa is getting started this week in Agadir, with military personnel from Morocco, the US, Tunisia, Senegal and Ghana gathering at the FAR’s southern zone headquarters. pic.twitter.com/6i6Jv4sdCP

— U.S. Embassy Morocco (@USEmbMorocco) October 26, 2021

These maneuvers, which involve thousands of Moroccan and American soldiers as well as soldiers from other countries from around the world, are aimed at improving the maneuvering capabilities of participating units, enhancing interoperability among participants in the planning and execution of joint operations within the framework of the alliance, and mastering tactics, techniques, and procedures, as well as developing cyber defense skills.

This combined exercise also aims to train the air sector in combat operations, support, and refueling from the air, improve maritime security cooperation, conduct naval exercises in naval tactics and conventional warfare, and perform humanitarian activities.

The “African Lion” exercise is a joint multinational exercise organized and managed by the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) in partnership with the Royal Armed Forces with the goal of improving cooperation and training, increasing interoperability, and enhancing the exchange of experiences and knowledge between the components. Different military forces are needed in order for it to reach its maximum operational potential.

It is worth noting that the joint Moroccan-American exercises “African Lion 2021” had previously organized their 17th edition from 7 to 18 June 2021 in the regions of Agadir, Tifnit, Tan-Tan, Mahbas in the Moroccan Sahara, Tafraout, Benguerir and Kenitra, based on the high instructions of King Mohammed VI.

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According to Oxford University defense specialist Samuel Ramani, Morocco is rapidly modernizing its military air force, and Moroccan leaders have selected drones in battle as “a major facet of military modernization efforts.”

“The United States has been more effective in boosting Morocco’s access to hidden weaponry, especially American drones, precision-guided munitions, and laser-guided munitions,” the analyst told The Defense News Magazine.

“The United States and Turkey are collaborating to improve Morocco’s military capabilities with stealth technology, with 12 Bayraktar TB2 marches expected to arrive in Morocco shortly,” Ramani added.

Moroccan arms acquisitions in 2020, according to Aram Nerguizian, one of the senior assistants at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, show Morocco’s intention to modernize its military system.3

Morocco, in particular, ordered 36 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in 2019.

(24 new, 12 optional), over 2400 “BGM-71-4B-RF TOW2A” missiles to improve integrated defense capabilities, and about 25 F-16C/D Block 72 fighter aircraft with additional air-to-ground munitions.

As well as supporting sustainability to improve systems integration and life cycle maintenance of female combatants.

Morocco is looking forward to expanding its arsenal of weaponry.

Thus, Rabat has signed multiple military equipment procurement deals with Russia and China, including short and medium-range missiles.

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On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of founding the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), His Majesty King Mohammed VI expressed his appreciation and satisfaction for what the Moroccan army has achieved in terms of “the generosity of work during this year full of sacrifice and giving, and the fulfillment of our eternal national values.”

His Majesty also praised the “strength of resolve, steadfastness and selflessness demonstrated by the country’s soldiers in monitoring and securing land and air borders, especially in the southern and eastern regions.”

Moreover, The King expressed his gratitude to the sacrifices offered by the brave men of the Moroccan army in order to uphold the nation’s flag whilst in all parts of the kingdom, affirming that this will remain a pride for all Moroccans, and calling upon members of the army to make “more constructive effort and sincere dedication to achieve the will of your souls to excel and triumph.”

In the same context, His Majesty referred to the victory achieved by the FAR in the cross border of Guergarat, saying in this regard, “As the Supreme Commander and Chief of General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, I am pleased to note in particular the rapid interaction of our armed forces with our high orders to reinforce cross border of Guergarat based on an elaborate plan to block the road for mercenary maneuvers.”

He added, “With your high professionalism in the field of planning, leadership and operational execution, you have been able to defeat the desperate maneuvers of the enemies of our territorial integrity, and you have shown to the whole world the feasibility and legitimacy of this qualitative process that enabled to ensure the safe flow of goods and people between Morocco and Africa.”

On a different note, King Mohammed VI praised the “heroic role of the military health teams stationed on the front lines to confront the Covid-19 pandemic, along with their counterparts in national institutions and civil protection personnel, to provide medical services as well as during the national process of vaccination.”

His Majesty also pointed out, in this regard, that despite the urgent and difficult circumstances of this pandemic and the restrictions it imposed, Moroccan army members were able to carry out their various tasks with enthusiasm, implement security-related plans, and fight cross-border crimes and respond to them effectively and decisively.

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Geneva – The Moroccan community in Switzerland has expressed its full support for Morocco’s peaceful and life-saving intervention to unblock Guerguarat crossing linking Morocco to Mauritania and to secure the flow of goods and people through this buffer area.

In a joint press release intended to enlighten Swiss and international public opinion, the Moroccan Sahara association in Switzerland, the Socio-Cultural Noor association in Montreux, the Moroccan association of Geneva, and the Rabita Morocco Switzerland Association have recalled that the intervention of Morocco in Guerguarat made it possible to put an end to the provocations of the separatist group which endangers the stability not only of the region, but also of the African continent and its European neighbors.

“For three weeks, militias of the Polisario, an armed separatist group created, financed and hosted by Algeria, proceeded to block traffic in the buffer zone of Guerguarat, on the main road connecting Morocco and Mauritania ”, Recalls the press release, noting that despite the appeals of the Secretary General of the United Nations and of several countries, and despite the resolutions of the Security Council urging the Polisario to withdraw its militias, this armed separatist group has persisted in its actions of obstruction of civil and commercial mobility.

After having observed the great restraint in the face of the multiple incursions of the Polisario in the buffer zone, the Royal Armed Forces intervened to unblock the situation, restore the free movement of goods and people and secure the passage, recall these associations.

“We would like to express our full support for Morocco’s decision to act to put an end to the serious and dangerous provocations of the Polisario which seeks to destabilize the region after its failures on the political and diplomatic levels”, they noted.

The actions of this armed group, they stressed, are a threat to the stability and security of the Sahel-Saharan zone, but also of Europe. “We thus call on Swiss, European and international public opinion to address these provocations harmful to regional peace and stability”, the statement added.

These associations also called “to put an end to the ordeal and suffering endured by the sequestered populations in the Tindouf camps, led by the Polisario, in southern Algeria, by allowing them to return with dignity to the mother country, Morocco”.

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