The military maneuvers usually carried out in Ceuta and which went unnoticed, attracted particular interest on Wednesday due to the diplomatic crisis between Morocco and Spain.
Morocco is one of France’s biggest arms customers. From 2019 to 2020, French arms exports fell by nearly 41%.
Morocco has been engaged for a few years in a dynamic of strengthening and modernizing its army, with the support of the United States and Saudi Arabia. Would this Moroccan military policy constitute a threat to Spain?
The State Security, the Belgian civil intelligence service, identified in 2015 on its radar, Jürgen Conings, a soldier considered a potentially dangerous extremist, and actively sought by the police and the army for several days. The latter expressed his intention to attack a mosque.
French helicopters will take off in the coming days for Morocco where they will participate in the military exercise called "Authorise 2021".
Morocco plans to acquire the Ejder Yalçın armored vehicle from the Turkish manufacturer Nurol Makina. This will further strengthen its armament.
The Royal Armed Forces (FAR) destroyed, this Monday, May 17, 2021, a Polisario vehicle in the Mahbès sub-sector. A response to a provocation from the East of the defense wall in the Sahara.
The African Lion 21 scheduled for next June in the Moroccan Sahara will see the participation of more than 700 soldiers from the Georgia National Guard. In addition to Morocco, military maneuvers will also take place in Tunisia and Senegal.
Morocco’s military spending has exploded in 10 years, reaching $4.8 billion in 2020. This is revealed by the report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) .
Securing the Guerguerat border post is a major concern for Morocco. A new control point has just been installed in this border town located in the far southwest of the Sahara.
Morocco wants to undertake renovation work on the Benguerir air base, known as the sixth air base of the Royal Air Force (6th BAFRA). This will increase the capacity of this forward deployment base.
As part of its military cooperation with Israel, Morocco has acquired drones that it has used against the Polisario Front in the Sahara conflict open since the ceasefire was broken on November 13, 2020.