Morocco is pursuing its resolve to bolster its military arsenal with modern armaments in 2024, according to the Spanish newspaper Defensa.com, an arms and defense news site.
In a recent article, Defensa reported that the Kingdom of Morocco is expected to obtain a sizeable quantity of military equipment under agreements–particularly with the U.S.–in recent months.
The Moroccan Royal Armed Forces will receive a big boost–with a defense budget hike reaching 11.3 billion euros–which will focus on acquiring and maintaining advanced military equipment, as well as promoting the growth of the national defense sector.
In 2023, Morocco made strategic moves, acquiring 18 HIMARS missile launch platforms and requesting 40 AGM-154C JSOW guided bombs for its US F-16 fighter jets for a total cost of $774 million.
The country also sought military technology from Israel, acquiring the PULS rocket launcher and becoming the first client of the SpyX stealth drone, which has a 50-kilometer operational range.
The Moroccan Army obtained the Barak MX long-range air defense system from Israel and has shown interest in Rafael’s Spyder medium-range air defense system.
Furthermore, the introduction of the Chinese Wing Loong II armed drones marked a significant development in 2023, as it is the third unmanned armed aerial system in Morocco’s arsenal, following the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 and Wing Loong I, along with negotiations with the Turkish constructor Baykar to purchase the AKINCI attack UAV.
The Moroccan Air Force received eight new H-135M helicopters in 2023, with plans for a total of 12. Airbus Helicopters and the production of 24 AH-64E Apache helicopters by Boeing are also underway, scheduled to be delivered this year.
In the space field, Morocco selected the Israeli group IAI to supply a new observation satellite, expected to replace 2014 “Mohammed VI-A” satellite.
Plans are also underway to purchase a coastal missile defense system, with Israeli manufacturers appearing to be the preferred choice.
A $10 million U.S. subsidy, comprising 500 military vehicles, was granted through the Surplus Defense Articles (EDA) program to further support the Moroccan military’s activities.
In a press statement to our news website, Cherkaoui Roudani, a geopolitical expert, said that Morocco’s defense budget will rise considerably in 2024, reaching over 124 billion MAD, given the security risks posed by terrorist groups who now have drones capable of endangering Morocco’s internal stability, as well as disruptive troops located in the Sahel.