Morocco Opts for Israeli Artillery, Snubs French Supplier

A major setback for KNDS France, the manufacturer of the famous Caesar cannon, and its subsidiary Arquus, which had hoped to supply support vehicles to the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) as part of an expanded partnership with France. Morocco has turned to the Israeli group Elbit Systems to equip its FAR with 36 Atmos 2000 self-propelled artillery pieces, thus ending cooperation with KNDS France, according to the French newspaper La Tribune. A decision justified by the persistent tensions over the quality and maintenance of the equipment delivered by KNDS France to Morocco. In 2020, the kingdom had ordered the Caesar from the manufacturer and had received the first delivery two years later. Problems arose shortly after this delivery, but the French manufacturer was unable to resolve them, with some artillery pieces apparently still non-operational to this day.

Mounted on a Czech Tatra truck, the Atmos 2000 stands out for its rapid deployment capabilities, its automated firing system, and its high mobility on difficult terrain. This system has a reduced crew. Its main technical characteristics include a range of over 40 km thanks to the ERFB-BB shells, a flexible chassis that can be adapted in 6x6 or 8x8 configuration, an armored cab capable of accommodating between 2 and 6 crew members and compatibility with the 155 mm ammunition used by NATO. This modern system has an on-board storage capacity of 18 shells and propellant charges. Thanks to its "shoot-and-scoot" technology, which allows it to fire and reposition quickly to avoid any enemy retaliation, it provides great responsiveness on the battlefield.

Israel has become Morocco’s third arms supplier, accounting for 11% of its military imports, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). With this sale, Tel Aviv is strengthening its military cooperation with Rabat. Meanwhile, France is losing ground in Morocco.