Morocco Strengthens Military Ties with US and France in Joint Naval Exercises

The first military exercises took place from February 24 to 26 in the Mediterranean Sea. In late February 2021, the Royal Navy participated in a major military exercise alongside the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle, the flagship of the French Navy, as part of the Clemenceau 21 mission, the French embassy in Morocco wrote on its Facebook account.

During this period, the Allal Ben Abdellah frigate of the Royal Navy participated in the escort of the carrier strike group (CSG) formed around the Charles-de-Gaulle during its build-up phase, punctuated by multiple interactions, of increasing difficulty, including anti-aircraft warfare exercises, anti-surface warfare and communication. These exercises contributed to a gradual improvement in connectivity between the participating units.

Result: the objective pursued, that of developing interoperability between the Moroccan frigate, the air defense frigate Chevalier Paul and the other vessels making up the CSG escort, was achieved. "This group navigation, which requires great rigor, illustrates a significant advance in Franco-Moroccan operational naval cooperation," the French embassy said.

Morocco also participated in another maritime exercise. This time, it was a "historic bilateral maritime exercise" between the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the US Navy, which was part of the Lightning Handshake operation. This operation aims to improve interoperability between the US and Moroccan navies in several defense areas, including surface attacks, anti-submarine warfare, air-to-sea strikes, combined logistical support and maritime interdiction operations.

Lightning Handshake 2021 helps increase the ability of US and Moroccan maritime forces to work together to address security challenges and increase stability in the region, the US embassy in Rabat said.