An agreement of $250 million has been submitted to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), a US government entity under the Department of Defense (DoD), for the maintenance of Moroccan F16s and for the transfer of equipment to Morocco. With this amount, the Kingdom of Morocco can now equip itself with air-to-air missiles and bombs.
The 53rd edition of the International Paris Air Show (SIAE) at Paris-Le Bourget was marked by several strong signals. One of the most significant will have been the commitment to give more scope to the "AéroExpo Marrakech", to make it a bigger event, with greater notoriety, in the image of what is done in France.
Initially very interested in the Russian anti-aircraft system "S400" which is considered the best in the world, Morocco will ultimately opt for the American "Patriot MIM-104". In reality, the American threat to apply the GAATSA law to any country that has concluded military agreements with Russia will have weighed heavily in the balance.
The Royal Moroccan Navy will soon receive helicopters that will be used to effectively combat submarines. These are American Bell 412EP type aircraft.
Morocco (temporarily no doubt) occupies the 4th place of arms importer supplied by Germany. Its orders in the first quarter of 2019 amount to a little more than 56 million euros.
Morocco has been cited by Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest American defense and security company, as one of the clients thanks to which the company was able to significantly increase its turnover in the first quarter of this year, compared to the previous fiscal year.
The Minister Delegate to the Head of Government, in charge of National Defense Administration, received Angel Olivares Ramirez, the Spanish Secretary of State for Defense. On the agenda, among other things: the potential for a defense industry.
The United States has officially authorized the sale of certain weapons to Morocco . This sale, which has been given the green light by the US State Department, would strengthen the military capability of the kingdom.
From yesterday until April 07, 2019, the joint military exercise "African Lion 2019" will be held in the regions of Agadir, Tifnir, TanTan, Tata and Ben Guerir. A joint Moroccan-American exercise, one of the largest in the world.
Here is a very strange story. The Court of Appeal of the Administrative Court of Rabat has just overturned a first-instance judgment granting compensation to a former soldier who spent 2 years and 7 months in prison due to a desertion he denies. According to the Court of Appeal, roughly speaking, it cannot be proven that he did not desert.
While the Moroccan special forces soldiers had recently impressed with their very modern look (during Flintlock 2019), the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) continue their shopping.
While in 2018 Morocco appears in 55th place out of 136 countries (7th in Africa) evaluated by the specialized website Global Firepower, this year it occupies the 60th place.