The acquisition by Morocco of Turkish drones, Israeli suicide drones, and American warplanes seems to be of increasing concern to Spain.
Would rearmament in Morocco scare Spain? With the antagonistic positions of the two countries on Ceuta and Melilla and the Sahara, the question deserves to be asked. In recent years, Morocco has embarked on a dynamic of modernization and strengthening of its army. In this context, the kingdom has acquired a multitude of combat drones and suicide drones from Turkey and its American and Israeli partners. Last year, the Moroccan government increased its defense budget by 30% and did not stop buying weapons, worries La Razon.
At the end of September, Turkey made its first deliveries of “Bayraktar TB2” combat drones ordered by Morocco for a little over 59 million euros. Morocco could use these devices to strengthen surveillance at its borders. The kingdom also expressed its intention to acquire from the United States, four MQ-9B Sea Guardians and other precision-guided weapons with an estimated value of more than 850 million euros.
In addition to the MQs, Rabat bought from its American partner, 24 Apache AH-64 attack helicopters with option and 12 other related equipment for approximately 3.73 billion euros, various ammunition for its F-16 fighters for an amount of approximately 878 million euros, 25 F-16 / D Block 72 combat fighters for 3.33 billion, and 220 Abrams M1A1 tanks for 890 million euros. Since the resumption of diplomatic relations with Israel, under the aegis of the United States, Morocco has also acquired several suicide drones from the Israeli company IAI.
Clearly, Morocco has embarked on an arms race with Algeria. But also, the kingdom is working to strengthen its army in order to fight effectively against terrorism and illegal immigration.
