Morocco Deploys Chinese Combat Drones to Monitor Sahara Region

The Moroccan Sahara, particularly Laâyoune, its largest city located 450 km from the Algerian borders, is now under the surveillance of three Chinese drones of the "Wing Loong II" (or Pterodactyl II) brand acquired in 2022 from the Chinese company China Aviation Industry Corporation, reports Le360. An enlarged version of the Wing Loong I combat drone with a longer fuselage and larger wingspan, the Wing Loong II is capable of carrying 12 laser-guided bombs or missiles. The aircraft has a flight endurance of 20 hours and a range of 1,500 km, at a speed of 370 km/h.

Morocco already has some 150 other unmanned aerial vehicles, including ThunderB and WanderB of Israeli manufacture, as well as Bayraktar TB2 of Turkish manufacture.