Spain Alarmed as Morocco-Algeria Arms Race Escalates in North Africa

Morocco has purchased several military equipment and defense systems from the United States, its privileged partner, and Israel, especially since the normalization of their relations in December 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords. These new acquisitions, and mainly the Israeli PULS rocket launcher, which the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (FAR) have recently acquired, worry Spain which feels vulnerable. The PULS has a range of 300 kilometers and is adaptable to existing systems, recalls El Debate.

Algeria, for its part, has the Iskander E, one of the most destructive Russian missiles with a range of about 280 kilometers, as well as the Russian Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile system, intended for the destruction of drones and other air targets and four Russian 636 submarines equipped with Kalibr missiles with a range of 2,400 kilometers. But the other weapon that frightens Spain and that Morocco is about to acquire from Washington is the HIMARS rocket launcher. The US State Department has approved this year the sale to Rabat of 18 HIMARS and 112 ground-to-ground missiles of three different models, with a range between 82 and 305 kilometers, as well as the sale of 40 glide bombs with a range of up to 120 kilometers.

According to the 2023 ranking of Global Firepower, the Royal Moroccan Navy has 121 naval units, 6 frigates, 1 corvette and 22 patrol boats, but does not have submarines. Algeria, on the other hand, has 201 naval units, 5 frigates, 6 corvettes, 6 submarines and 25 patrol boats. While the Royal Air Force has 250 aircraft, including 83 fighter jets, 30 military transport aircraft, 67 training aircraft, 4 special mission aircraft, 2 air-to-air refueling aircraft and 64 helicopters, the Algerian Air Force has 547 aircraft, including 90 fighter jets, 60 military transport aircraft, 87 training aircraft, 10 special mission aircraft and 5 air-to-air refueling aircraft and 273 helicopters.

The Moroccan Army has 31,972 armored vehicles, 40 missile launch systems and 453 self-propelled artillery pieces, compared to 35,990 armored vehicles, 298 mobile missile launch systems and 224 self-propelled artillery pieces, indicates the ranking which, while noting a military superiority of Algeria over Morocco, points out that a large part of the Algerian military equipment is obsolete.