The government of Morocco signed a strategic contract with the Belgian companies Sabca and Sabena Aerospace, together with Lockheed Martin of the USA, aiming to become a maintenance center for F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters and C-130 Hercules freighters.
According to Sabca, the contract signed on April 14 will lead to the creation of Maintenance Aero Maroc (MAM), a military aircraft maintenance facility. The new MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) will be based at Ben Slimane Air Base.
MAM will answer “the sustain requirements of the Royal Moroccan Air Force and bring high-tech jobs and technical skills within the country”, says Sabca. The statement notes that the “first maintenance activities” on the C-130s can start in the approximately 15.000 square foot facility before the end of the year.
The partnership “will ensure that the Kingdom of Morocco receives the best possible industrial facilities, equipment, training and certification to the requirements of the Royal Moroccan Air Force and other international customers”, said Danya Trent, vice president of Lockheed's F-16 program.
The biggest reason for installing MRO in Morocco is its fleet of F-16C/D Block 52 fighters, which is expected to increase with the arrival of another 25 F-16 Block 72s starting in 2025.
Abdel Hamid Harfi, a Moroccan military expert, told Breaking Defense that the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) has 23 F-16 fighters and these are expected to be upgraded to Block 72 standard at the new MAM facility. The F-16s operate alongside the locally modernized F-5E/F Tiger II fighters, as well as the modernized Mirage F1 MF2000 and the Alpha Jet, based at Meknes air base.
The RMAF also operates a fleet of 17 C-130Hs and has sought to increase that fleet through the Excess Defense Articles program, where the US donates aircraft that will no longer be used.
Harfi says the RMAF “expects to retain the F-16 and C-130 Hercules not only for its air force, but also for neighboring African countries that operate these aircraft.”
Tunisia operates a fleet of six C-130B/H Hercules and two C-130J-30 Super Hercules. Additionally, it is set to receive two additional C-130H aircraft from the United States following a 2019 order.
Other regional C-130H operators include Libya, Niger, Chad and Egypt, the latter of which was approved by the Biden istration to purchase twelve C-130J Super Hercules aircraft in January of this year. Egypt also has 220 F-16 fighters in its air force, which represents the fourth largest fleet of the model in the world (behind the US, Turkey and Israel), an obvious target of potential business for the new aircraft maintenance company.
In 2020, Morocco issued law 10.20, which establishes the framework for the production of local military systems.
According to the law, three categories of military production are permitted in the Kingdom: defense weapons and ammunition (including related information system and communication and surveillance equipment); military security equipment; and hunting and sniper systems.
“In line with this law, Morocco is increasing its local military production and the new facility is one of those steps. The Kingdom aspires to achieve self-sufficiency in the field of military industrialization and to be a regional military industry platform for the local market as well as for export to neighboring African countries,” Harfi said.
In parallel, the country is also working on a broader modernization program, which includes 36 AH-64E Apache helicopters, which are due to be received by 2025, and 22 T-129 ATAK helicopters manufactured in Turkey with an uncertain arrival date.
Harfi notes that MAM's maintenance operations will not be the first MRO activities to take place in the country. “French Mirage F1 interceptor fighters were maintained locally as part of a previous partnership between the RMAF and Sabena Aerospace.” He points out that the modernization of the F-5 was developed locally in early 2000 in partnership with Israel (similar to what happened with Brazilian aircraft).
![Royal Moroccan Air Force (القوات الجوية الملكية المغربية) F-16C, Mirage F1, and F-5E TIII refuel from a KC-130 [939 x 628] : r/MilitaryPorn](https://external-preview.redd.it/oA3G6lrzhwpCKt_XpxDcxRlwFJvrSRHtBk70vVZRIiE.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=b056df22c91af1004908db9b462bad239f5c10a8)
Morocco has numerous security concerns, including neighboring Algeria with an advanced air fleet, which the Kingdom accuses of arming the Frente Polisario rebel group in Western Sahara. Furthermore, tensions remain with Spain over Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish enclaves that Morocco considers occupied cities.
The specialist reinforces that the Moroccan search for Technology transfer is important for the RMAF to be independent and able to maintain its fleets in critical situations.
“It is remarkable that the maintenance of transport and combat aircraft up to the third and fourth level is done locally in Morocco while this capacity does not exist in 80-90% in the Arab countries”, finished.
