According to online media, Africa Intelligence , the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces recently placed an order for Turkish armed drones. An order, which comes at a time when certain current events suggest an increase in tensions in the region of Western Sahara. But Morocco also wants to meet operational obligations, particularly related to increasing its cooperation with the Western powers.
The Kingdom of Morocco recently placed an order for drones from Turkey. The Royal Armed Forces should soon be able to acquire a fleet of twelve armed drones of the Bayraktar TB-2 type, manufactured by the Turkish Company Baykar, led by Selçuk Bayraktar, son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The example of the Nagorno-Karabakh war
If the Moroccans have set their sights on Turkish drones, it is in no way for an ideological or geostrategic reason, according to Emmanuel Dupuy. For this expert and president of the Institute for Prospective and Security in Europe (IPSE), the reason is very simple: ” the Turks are the best “.
This is evidenced by the use of these drones by the Azerbaijani forces, advised and equipped by their Turkish ally, in the conflict between them and the Armenian artillery in Nagorno-Karabakh. ” The Turks have the advantage of having proven, via this conflict, the effectiveness of their drones. It has been an extraordinary accelerator of Turkish military capacity,” says Emmanuel Dupuy. He adds: “This is the reason why countries which have no particular appetite for Turkey, such as Ukraine, are considering buying them a certain number of drones. ”
These drones will allow Morocco to benefit from a point, which could make the difference in a possible armed conflict and is part of an increasingly important ” dronization ” in Africa. Some fear that this is part of a desire to get rid, in silence, of the Polisario Front.
Is there a link with the tensions in Western Sahara?
For Emmanuel Dupuy, ” we must not make a link between the death of Addah Al-Bendir “, head of the Polisario gendarmerie, who was reportedly eliminated on April 7 during an attack, and the acquisition of Turkish drones. Moreover, several hypotheses clash. The unprecedented use of a drone to strike this Polisario Front official is not proven, even if this is the version advanced by the Sahrawi separatists, according to our colleagues from AFP. Others also speak of possible use of a surveillance drone, preceding a strike.
If the use of a drone ” is difficult to demonstrate “, the scale of the operation carried out is “a first since the ceasefire” signed in 1991 under the aegis of the United Nations, believes the Moroccan political scientist Mohamed Chiker, a specialist in the Moroccan Armed Forces (FAR), joined by our colleagues from AFP.
Conversely, Emmanuel Dupuy believes that “there is no upsurge in tensions in Western Sahara“. “There is above all an attempt to mediate friction, “he adds. For him, this explains the Moroccan strategy which consists” of very little, or even not communicating on the various operations that can take place in the area, so as not to escalate into the war of words“.
Morocco is equipping itself, like other countries in North and West Africa which have acquired drones: “There were no drones in 2016, but in 2021, almost all countries have them in the region “, specifies Emmanuel Dupuy. For the specialist, these acquisitions suggest a ” greater dronization, still, of African countries, which, for a large part of them, face terrorist groups “, but also, new forms of war strategies.
Objective: To contain the Sahelian terrorist threat?
For Emmanuel Dupuy, this purchase of drones by Morocco can be explained more by the strengthening of cooperation with France, with the aim of containing the jihadist threat that could come from the Sahel, where the situation is deteriorating, than by a desire to get rid of the Polisario Front: ” Algeria, for example, thanks to the reform of its Constitution in November 2020, can now intervene outside the national territory, within the framework of international mandates. Morocco must also be ready to do so “, adds Emmanuel Dupuy.
When it comes to drones, the Turks are the best
Emmanuel Dupuy, President of the Institute for Prospective and Security in Europe
Moreover, according to this specialist, if drones, probably Israeli, could be used by the kingdom, ” this is fully in line with the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel “, announced on December 10 by Donald Trump, then President of the United States.
Information from the Moroccan press reported at the end of 2020 the delivery of three Harfang drones but also the order of Israeli Bluebird and American MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones – apparently not delivered to date.
” Officially, Morocco does not have armed drones “, but it ” has a panoply of unarmed drones at the cutting edge of technology “, assured the Moroccan military expert, Abdelhamid Harifi, to AFP.
Via these drone acquisitions, Morocco would also meet a need, linked to its privileged strategic partnership with NATO: ” The Moroccans meet an obligation operational, within the framework of stronger cooperation with NATO “, according to Emmanuel Dupuy. He adds: “This dronisation is not related to a conflict but a state of mind, a philosophy, which is to conduct operations against an insurgency or fight against armed groups, exposing the least possible men. “
For The specialist, drones offer the advantage of allowing operations to be outsourced and involving the lives of armed troops to a minimum.
