Morocco’s Drone Arsenal Shifts Power Balance in Western Sahara Conflict

The Moroccan Air Force is one of the first on the African continent to make use of drones acquired mainly from China, Turkey and Israel. Since the beginning of the last decade, Morocco has made available to its army drones such as the American RQ-1 Predator, the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 or the Israeli Hermes 900. Morocco also plans to purchase kamikaze drones from the Israeli company IAI for $22 million, according to Moncloa.

To read: Morocco Deploys Israeli-Made Drones in Western Sahara Conflict with Polisario Front

In November 2020, the Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, announced the resumption of hostilities in the Sahara, considering that Morocco had broken the 1991 ceasefire by dispersing a Sahrawi demonstration in Guerguerat. Morocco has mainly used these drones in this conflict, not only to retaliate against Polisario attacks, but also to carry out intelligence, surveillance and target recognition missions of the Polisario.

To read: Morocco’s Acquisition of Turkish Combat Drones Raises Concerns in Spain

Meanwhile, Spain, which has had the American MQ-9 Predator 2 since 2015, is still hesitant to use this weapon of mass destruction. When it was acquired, the Spanish government had clearly stated that it would not use it due to the controversies raised after its use by the United States to counter terrorist attacks.