Morocco’s Submarine Ambitions: Reports of Naval Acquisitions Unconfirmed

"Morocco wants to acquire submarines in the long term and has already consulted the main industrialists such as ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) in Germany, Navantia in Spain and Naval Group in France," the French newspaper La Tribune announced a few weeks ago in a long article on the major acquisition of advanced weapons by Morocco from the United States, Israel, France and Spain in recent years.

Apparently, the information is not verified. According to a Navantia spokesperson contacted by El Confidencial Digital, Morocco has not ordered submarines from the Spanish shipbuilder. In its desire to become a military power in the Maghreb, Morocco had launched a tender for the construction of two patrol boats, and has been expressing interest since 2019 in acquiring at least one submarine.

The kingdom has already purchased several frigates for the Royal Navy and its submarine acquisition project, if confirmed, should upset the naval balance in the Strait of Gibraltar, the western Mediterranean and the Canary Islands.

Spain has two S-70 class submarines and has already launched the construction of new S-80s, the first model of which could be commissioned in October of this year. Algeria, Morocco’s great rival, has no less than six submarines and is about to receive two more ordered from Russia.