Compulsory Military Service Returns to Morocco

Morocco's new draft law on military service, was adopted Monday in the Council of Ministers, chaired by King Mohamed VI. The entry into force of the new compulsory military service is scheduled for next October

The law applies to young people between 19 and 25 who do not pursue their studies, do not have a stable job and are not handicapped. The measure applies to men and women, without any distinction of sex. The old military service regime only applied to men.

The bill, number 44.18, provides for the exclusion from military service of persons with disabilities and those who financially support their families. Students may be exempted during their university training but will be called after the end of their studies. Any attempt to escape this service is punishable by up to 6 months in prison.

The previous regime of military service, established in 1966, was abolished indefinitely. However, the ability to bring it back is clear in the Constitution of 2011, as it has been specified in the constitution of Morocco since 1962," says the political scientist Mustapha Sehimi. In article 38, the supreme law states that "All citizens contribute to the defence of the homeland and its territorial integrity against any aggression or threat".

The duration of compulsory military service will be 12 full months, as against 18 previously.

In addition to military training and exercises in weapons handling and other equipment, military service will be extended to aspects related to vocational and technical training as well as participation in major structural projects in the country.

All in addition to learning the rules of life within the army (discipline, autonomy, teamwork, rigour, sense of values, citizenship, etc.). The goal is not just to leave reservists able to defend their homeland if necessary, but to train the citizens of tomorrow. Military service aims through its recovery to train young people and prepare them for a fruitful active life to serve and contribute to the development of their homeland.

Funding for this project is part of the state budget and should feature prominently in future finance laws. It is hardly mentioned in the 2019 budget so everything suggests that the budget must be reviewed.

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American Abrams Tanks for Moroccan Military

The first fifty American Abrams tanks (M1A1) will be delivered to the Moroccan military in November 2016. The order is for two hundred, to be delivered in instalments

An M1A1 Abrams, firing its US built M256 120 mm tank gun

This sixty-one ton "third generation" version of the main American battle tank will replace the T72 tanks that the Moroccan armed forces acquired from Russia. With laser range finder, a gyro-stabilised gun and sophisticated computer firing system the Abrams is superior to the T72.

The Moroccan versions of the M1A1 Abrams tanks will be equipped with the Rheinmetall 120 mm, a smoothbore tank gun designed and produced by the West German Rheinmetall-DeTec AG company and produced under license for the Americans. The American version, the M256, uses a coil spring recoil system instead of a hydraulic system.

The Abrams has a crew of 4 men and can travel at 72km / h, with a range of 465 km.

However, the M1A1 is not the latest version of the Abrams. Since the early 1990s the Americans began producing the M1A2 with technological improvements of the basic M1A1 design. Outwardly similar in appearance to the M1A1, the most notable exterior changes on the M1A2 are the redesigned Commander's Weapon Station (CWS) and the addition of a Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer) on the left side of the turret forward of the loader's hatch. Internally, however, the M1A2 has been radically redesigned to take advantage of newer technology.

Approved for implementation in 1995, the M1A2 SEP (System Enhancement Package) is a technology upgrade and standardisation program, whereby the Army's fleet of M1s and M1A2s will all be brought to a common standard. It is unclear at this stage if the Moroccan versions have been standardised.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, said the foreign sales are key to keeping the Abrams line and workforce at the plant running for the U.S. Army’s future needs. Portman began talking to Moroccan officials two years ago about the Abrams tank program and integrating the Abrams tank into the Royal Moroccan Army.

The Army awarded a contract to General Dynamics Land Systems for $17 million to provide removal and disposal of 50 M-1A1 frontal turret armor packages and installation of the M-1A1 situational awareness frontal turret armor packages

For the Abrams tanks the Moroccan Army will provide air cover with the US F16 although analysts suggest that in the future there will be more reliance on drone technology.

The US has already granted General Atomics an export license to sell the unarmed Predator XP drone to Morocco, but is unclear if they will be purchased. Other sources have suggested that the U.S might consider selling armed MQ-9 Reapers to Morocco.

However, drones may come from another country. The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported on its website that the Israeli Military Industries, a government-owned weapons manufacturer, sold Morocco drones over the past year through a French company.

"Heron" UAV's have a range of 350km and can operate for up to 52 hours without refuelling

The Moroccan army took delivery of three Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at the end of last April, via the French company Dassault Aviation, which acted as the mediator in the deal. The Aeronautica Y Astronautica magazine published a document which confirms that Morocco bought the Israeli-designed aircraft. The army also possesses four US-made UAVs.


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African Lion 15 ~ Largest Military Exercise in Africa

African Lion 2015 will be the biggest military exercise on the African continent. Military contingents from Morocco, the U.S.A, Germany, United Kingdom, Tunisia, Mauritania and Senegal will begin the first phase of Exercise African Lion 2015, in Agadir,  today (Feb. 2)

African Lion 15 will begin with an intelligence capacity building workshop during the first week of February. The international coalition will then stand up a Combined Joint Task Force and plan for a simulated international crisis the week after. This will prepare them for the main phase of the exercise scheduled to take place mid-May.

The exercise is conducted in accordance with U.N. mandated peace operation standards. Each event is designed to strengthen cooperation and operational proficiency between the nations for future crisis and contingency response in the region. The training focuses on building combined military capabilities and integrating experiences and lessons learned from the participants.

The second phase of the exercise involves approximately 2,500 personnel from participating countries and will also include contingents from the Netherlands and Belgium. The CJTF will work through a scenario that focuses on humanitarian aid, disaster relief, stability operations, command and control, and maritime prepositioning integration. The 2015 edition also integrates the Moroccan and U.S. Air Force in "Exercise Majestic Eagle", which will occur simultaneously with the second portion of African Lion, and focuses on aerial refuelling and close air support training missions.

“The foundation of how our international community responds to a crisis in any region will be established during theatre security cooperation exercises such as African Lion,” said Maj. Gen. Richard L. Simcock, commander of the CJTF. “This exercise allows the U.S., allies and partner nations to strengthen our relationships with our Moroccan hosts and improve how we will work together in the future.”

African Lion is held every year in Morocco and US Marine officials say they are impressed by the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.  Exercise African Lion 14 was held in Tifnit and at the time 1st Lt. Shane G. Livingstone, a military police platoon commander said “The Moroccans simply amazed the Marines. This morning we did a ‘check on learning.’ There’s nothing like being able to watch them pick up and execute everything they learned the day before with speed and accuracy, even after having received a lot of classes the same day,” he explained.

However, this exercise was not only beneficial for Morocco; the US military learned from the Royal Moroccan Force’s experience as well. “This training was good for us, because we’ve learned just as much from the Moroccans,” said Sgt. Keenan M. Kite, with the U.S. Army military police.


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Royal Moroccan Airforce Join Fight Against ISIL

Morocco has joined the coalition against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. American officials report that the Kingdom has agreed to air strikes against ISIL positions in Iraq as well as Syria. Morocco has already contributed several F-16 Block 52+ multi-role fighters for the daily operations

Moroccan F-16s

An American military spokesperson says “This was a good decision both for the coalition and Morocco as it has not yet tested these aircraft in combat.”

At this point, the Royal Moroccan Air Force has been operating three F-16s in the campaign against ISIL. Officials said the Moroccan missions were coordinated with the U.S. Air Force through its air operations command in Qatar.

This marked the first use of Morocco’s F-16 fleet in air strikes. The kingdom procured 24 such aircraft from Lockheed Martin in a $2.4 billion purchase.

So far, Morocco has been the first and only North African ally to join the coalition. Egypt, which was a longtime partner of Washington, has refrained from any commitment following the U.S. suspension of F-16s to the regime of President Abdul Fatah Sisi.

Rep. Rob Wittman, a chairman of a House Armed Services subcommittee says “This effort needs an Arab face.”

According to daily newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum in its December 10th issue, four F-16 Moroccan fighters have begun bombing locations belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The Moroccan air raids focused on bombing IS positions in the outskirts of the Iraqi capital Baghdad in addition to other parts of the country that were not yet identified.

The newspaper said that Spain is closely watching Morocco’s participation in the US-led coalition to fight against the Islamic State, adding that the move enabled Morocco to have an increased access to advanced technology and weapons manufactured by the United States. It went on to say that the Spanish press believes that results have shown that the Moroccan F-16s are more advanced than Spanish F-18 fighters which are devoted to the protection of the Canary Islands.

Earlier reports by the NY Times said that the Moroccan F-16 fighters will be targeting fixed sites like military headquarters, communications centers, oil refineries, training camps, troop barracks and weapon depots.

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Royal Moroccan Airforce Acquires NEW F-16s

The final three of 24 F-16s for the Royal Moroccan Air Force have departed Lockheed Martin’s facility in Texas on their way to their new home in Morocco. Morocco is in the process of upgrading its armed forces and is buying large amounts of military equipment, including fighters, trainer aircraft and frigates. 

As almost all significant combat equipment was acquired between 1978 and 1981, Morocco is moving ahead with an upgrade programme for its Mirage F1s and is also engaged in the acquisition of new equipment that will ensure the air arm remains credible and effective. The most important type is the F-16, which was designed to keep up with Algeria's purchase in 2007-2008 of 28 Su-30MKAs.

The final F-16 destined for Morocco performed its first flight on March 15 from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base and the final the three Block 52 single-seat aircraft left the base on August 22.

The Royal Moroccan Air Force on August 4, 2011, took delivery of the first four F-16s at a ceremony at Ben Guerir Air Base north of Marrakech.

Major General Margaret Woodward of the US Air Force at the time told reporters in Marrakech that another seven aircraft would be delivered at the beginning of this year and the remaining 13 in the following months.

“The delivery of these aircraft places Morocco among the very elite group of air forces of the world who operate the advanced multirole F-16,” said Ralph D Heath, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Aeronautics business.

Morocco is the 25th nation to order the F-16 – more than 4 500 have been built to date - in fact, the 4 500th F-16 was a Block 52 destined for Morocco. In December 2009 Morocco placed an US$841.9 million contract with Lockheed Martin for 18 single-seat F-16Cs and six two-seat F-16Ds.

"We are modernizing our fleet and we've chosen the F-16, not only because it is a high-quality airplane, but also because of the close relationship we have with the United States," said Deputy Inspector of the Royal Moroccan Air Force, Brigadier General Abdelali Houari.

The RMAF has around 60 warplanes and a substantial number of helicopters that are able to undertake combat operations as well as performing general support tasks. The air force’s inventory is being upgraded and swelled by new purchases, such as four Alenia Aeronautica C-27J Spartan transport aircraft. The Moroccan Air Force is also upgrading 27 of its Dassault Mirage F1s under the MF2000 project, which is giving them a capability similar to that of the Mirage 2000-5. The first upgraded aircraft flew in 2009.

Moroccan F-16s are based at Ben Guerir Air Base, which is a former US air base located about 36 miles (57 km) north of Marrakech and once used as a transatlantic abort landing site for the Space Shuttle.

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