Morocco Bolsters Naval Defense with Advanced US Helicopters, Raising Regional Concerns

Morocco placed the order for these 22 American Bell 412 EPI helicopters at the same time as the order for the Chinese Wing Loong II drones. The kingdom has just received two units of these latest generation helicopters, of which Spain owns an equivalent model, the American Sikorsky, also.

The Bell model just received by Morocco was first put into service in 2021. It has very advanced military technology and features torpedoes as well as Osprey 30 multi-function radars capable of tracking 1,000 targets at once, with a coverage of 370 kilometers. It has a maximum speed of 260 km/h and a range of 980 kilometers.

The Spanish Royal Navy’s Sikorsky SH-60B anti-submarine helicopter has a launcher that can hold up to 25 acoustic buoys, sensors and detectors. It is an improved version of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk with a more powerful engine and weapon mounts.

More powerful than the Bell, with its 1,900 horsepower engine compared to 1,250 for the Moroccan model, the Sikorsky has a search radar and, optionally, an infrared system for night operations. It has a maximum payload capacity of nearly 10 tons and can carry all kinds of weapons.