Morocco Lands Its Panther on a French Frigate; France Does the Opposite
A Panther helicopter from the Royal Moroccan Navy operated from a French frigate in the Mediterranean. The two navies swapped aircraft and platforms during exercise Chebec 26.
France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces has just confirmed the “cross-deployment of embarked helicopters” during Chebec 26. The Moroccan Panther thus operated from the French frigate, while the French Navy’s aircraft was hosted aboard the Moroccan frigate Tarik Ben Ziyad.
These operations took place in the western Mediterranean following an initial phase held in Toulon. The crews of the two ships had previously trained on a simulator and taken part in exercises to combat fires and other onboard emergencies, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces said.
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Taking off and landing a helicopter on a partner’s vessel requires pilots and sailors to use procedures, communications and an organizational structure different from those of their own ship. The exercise also makes it possible to check that the platforms can accommodate and operate the other navy’s aircraft.
The naval sequence accompanies the arrival in France of four Moroccan F-16s to train with Rafales. Paris describes the at-sea Chebec 26 exercises and the aerial Oryx 26 exercises as two simultaneous components of military cooperation with Morocco.
The Moroccan Panther switches decks
The aircraft involved is a Eurocopter AS565MA Panther belonging to the Royal Navy. Morocco has three, assigned to Flotilla 11F. The one deployed during Chebec 26 is usually embarked aboard the Tarik Ben Ziyad, according to the French specialist website Avions légendaires.
The Panther can carry out maritime surveillance, search and rescue, and commando transport missions. Moroccan aircraft are also equipped with side-mounted machine guns for maritime law enforcement operations. During the exercise, the Moroccan crew worked in particular with French Flotilla 36F on rescue scenarios and on the threat posed by drones.
Chebec is organized each year by the French and Moroccan navies. This 33rd edition brought together the frigate Tarik Ben Ziyad and a French Navy vessel for maneuvers designed to make their crews and equipment directly compatible during operations.
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The Moroccan frigate arrived in Toulon with its 110 sailors on 14 September. It put to sea again on 21 September with its Panther embarked, after a week of exercises at the dock, in the air and off the French coast.
