Americans test their new missile in Morocco—and this is only the beginning

The operation took place from 3 to 7 August in Tan-Tan. DVIDS / AFRICOM Moroccan and American military personnel set up a temporary test site enabling an American defense company to conduct a live-fire demonstration under operational conditions.

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In its report, the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) had deliberately remained vague about the manufacturer’s identity. It simply referred to an American start-up that had come to test a low-cost, long-range cruise missile designed to provide a precision-strike capability that could be produced in large quantities.

The system’s identity was eventually revealed: it is Anthem, a missile developed by Covenant Industries. U.S. Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll confirmed that the system had been tested in Morocco. The company plans to begin delivering the first components from its production line in early 2027.

The setup established in Tan-Tan was relatively lightweight. The American and Moroccan teams notably checked communications, the operation of the launch equipment and various parameters related to the missile’s flight. Weather data and target-designation information were also collected before the launch.

Washington has not, however, disclosed the distance covered by Anthem, its accuracy or its flight profile. No detailed results of the launch have been made public.

Tan-Tan set to host further American tests

The significance of this operation goes far beyond Covenant’s missile. It constitutes an initial industrial demonstration linked to the future Africa Multidomain Training and Experimentation Center (AMTEC), which Morocco and the United States want to establish in Tan-Tan.

A memorandum was signed on 13 July between the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and AFRICOM. The future center is to bring together a multidomain training area, an academy dedicated to drones, as well as an innovation and experimentation center. Its establishment is planned to take place gradually in Tan-Tan by 2030, AFRICOM indicates.

For the Americans, the objective is notably to be able to quickly test new military technologies under real-world conditions, working with the Moroccan forces as well as with defense-industry companies.

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The launch of Anthem thus constitutes one of the first concrete applications of this new cooperation. AFRICOM already indicates that the lessons learned in Tan-Tan will be used in upcoming experiments. The new American missile could therefore be the first in a series of military systems set to be tested in Morocco.