The proposed sale comes as Rabat denies sending Soviet-era tanks to Ukraine and US energy companies continue to cut deals with rival Algeria
The Biden administration on Tuesday approved the potential sale, for $524 million, of eighteen HIMARS mobile artillery systems toย Morocco, a key North African ally and military partner in the volatile Sahel region.
The US State Department on Tuesday notified Congress of the proposal, which includes the sale of Tactical Missile Systems and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS).
In a separate statement, the Ministry of Defense approved a $250 million sale of precision-guided air-to-surface bombs to Rabat.
Translation: “As part of the reinforcement of the deterrence capabilities of the Royal Armed Forces [FAR], โโMorocco will receive 18 HIMARS rocket launchers equipped with several types of missiles, including ATACMS missiles, with a range of 300 km, in the under a $524 million contract announced by the Pentagon.”
Morocco is a major non-NATO ally and a close partner of Washington in counterterrorism operations. It participates in more than 100 military exercises with the United States each year. With Tunisia and Senegal, it co-organizes African Lion โ the largest military exercise in Africa.
If sales are approved, Morocco would be the first country in North Africa to get HIMARS, or High Mobile Artillery Rocket Systems, which are mounted on a six-wheeled vehicle and operated by a crew of three. Guided rockets launched by HIMARS are used for medium-range precision strikes up to 70 km.
Growing interest in HIMARS
The plan to sell long-range tactical missile systems to Morocco is notable because Washington has ruled out sending them to Kyiv for fear it would escalate the war in Ukraine.
Interest in the rocket launch system has grown due to its effective use by Ukrainian forces against Russia.
HIMARS are highly mobile, allowing small teams to launch missiles and quickly disperse before being spotted by the enemy. They can also be easily loaded and unloaded on C-130 cargo planes that Morocco owns.
Lockheed Martin, the US defense contractor that manufactures HIMARS, said in February it was ramping up production of the unit amid growing interest. In the Arab world, only Jordan and the United Arab Emirates currently have HIMARS in their arsenal.
Morocco generally enjoys broad bipartisan support in Congress, which must approve the deal, making the sale likely. Republican Senator Jim Inhofe, one of Rabat’s fiercest critics of its Western Sahara policy, retired this year.
Morocco annexed the territory in 1975 after the end of Spanish colonial rule. Since then, he has been engaged in sporadic fighting with the Polisario Front, an independence movement that established the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1973.
About 175,000 Sahrawi refugees live in camps across the Algerian border. Rabat accuses its neighbor and great rival of arming the Sahrawis, an accusation denied by Algeria.
Weddings in Marrakech and fertilizer
The United States recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed territory in 2020 in exchange for Rabat normalizing relations with Israel. The Biden administration has come under pressure to reverse the Trump administration’s decision, but said there would be “no change” in the US position.
In January, reports emerged that Morocco had sent Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukraine. Rabat denied this claim, saying that this aid had been sent to Ukraine from the Czech Republic without his authorization.
Morocco has tried to find a balance between its American ally and Moscow.
Like other Arab states, Morocco depends on grain from Russia and Ukraine. Wealthy Russians are also inescapable customers of Marrakech nightclubs. President Vladimir Putin reportedly celebrated his daughter’s wedding in 2012 at the glitzy and famous La Mamounia hotel.
But Morocco also derived some benefits from the war. Profits at state-owned fertilizer producer OCP Group jumped 272% after fighting disrupted global fertilizer markets.
In June, King Mohammed VI sent Putin a letter celebrating relations between their countries. Four months later, the Department of Energy reached a nuclear power deal with Rosatom, a Russian state corporation that supported Russia’s war effort.
The proposed sale comes as the West seeks to make inroads with Algeria, Morocco’s arch-rival. According to the Wall Street Journal, oil giant Chevron is seeking to sign an energy exploration contract with Algiers.
Morocco and Algeria have been engaged in an arms race for decades. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is expected to visit Moscow next month.
The US Department of Defense said the sales “will not alter the military balance in the region”, adding that the systems “will improve Morocco’s ability to deal with current and future threats and contribute to Morocco’s ability to detect threats and control its borders, contributing to the maintenance of regional stability and securityโ.
