he race for combat drones continues between Morocco and Algeria. The air force of the eastern neighbor has received Wing Loong II type unmanned aircraft from China, informs an Iberian media . “Satellite images from last May confirm that the Algerian Air Force has received its first batch of these armed drones. The devices have carried out acceptance tests at the Ain Oussera air base in the north of the country”, precisely in the wilaya of Djelfa, the headquarters of the first military region.
Algeria had ordered , in September 2021 from China, 24 Wing Loong II drones. Deliveries have been delayed. They were initially planned between 2021 until the end of 2022. Algiers currently uses two types of Chinese drones in attack and reconnaissance missions, the CH-3 and the CH-4. “The capabilities of the Algerian Air Force will be strengthened with the commissioning of Wing Loong II”, explains the same media specializing in armaments. And to note that “the Wing Loong II is one of the rare attack systems that Morocco and Algeria have chosen to acquire simultaneously”.
In July 2022, Morocco began negotiating with China for the purchase of Wing Loong 2-type drones to replace the Wing Loong 1s. Members of Morocco’s air force completed two weeks ago , the 7 months of training in China to become familiar with these drones.
The training took place after the kingdom acquired the unmanned aircraft, designed and manufactured by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). Morocco already had four aircraft of the old model, Wing Loong l, offered by the United Arab Emirates.
