Marruecos fortalece su flota y diversifica sus compras militares en Europa
Morocco continues to consolidate its military fleet with a view to strengthening its maritime arsenal. This time the Moroccan kingdom has begun negotiations with the Italian company Fincantieri with the aim of supplying the Royal Navy with anti-submarine FREMM (European Multi Mission Frigate) units.
This acquisition is evidence of the growing importance of the maritime areas of the area in Morocco's strategy for protecting the Kingdom and reinforcing its national security. The FREMM frigates are vessels that are specially designed to operate in anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and anti-ship missions, as well as being capable of carrying out attacks in depth against land targets. This arsenal is used in what is known as anti-submarine warfare, a branch of naval warfare in which warships and submarines are used to track and damage enemy submarines, and the success of this type of warfare depends largely on the technological development of sensors and weapons.
After experiencing increasing sales success, FREMM has positioned itself as a worldwide reference product in this sector. The orders for 30 "Fincantieri", requested by countries such as Indonesia with the purchase of 6 fleets, Egypt with the purchase of 2 frigates and the United States with 10, are proof of the Italian business conquest in this field. These countries are joined by Morocco, Canada and Greece, although it has not yet been made public how many units they will acquire. This multi-mission frigate programme has been under development in cooperation with France and Italy since 2005.
Similarly, Morocco has approved a new military programme called "OMEGA" that seeks to modernise and equip its naval forces with new warships, in addition to having approved a plan to renew its submarine fleet to defend its two maritime frontiers located in the Mediterranean (the Ksar-Sghir naval base) and in the Atlantic (Safi naval base). These new purchases demonstrate Morocco's diversification of its military purchases on the European continent. France is now the continent's second largest supplier after the United States, making it a privileged partner.
Morocco has already had a French FREMM (Fremm Mohammed VI stealth frigate) in the Royal Moroccan Navy's service since 2014. The transaction with the Italian subsidiary came after Morocco decided to put the brakes on the purchase of a fourth-generation Russian diesel-electric submarine and finally opted for the purchase of a Scorpene submarine proposed by the French Kership naval group. This vessel is equipped with an integrated combat system and a centralised and automated platform control system that ensures a high level of diving safety.
In this context, Morocco's recent acquisition of two patrol boats for maritime surveillance, worth 260 million euros, attracted the attention of three naval equipment manufacturers, the Spanish Navantina group, the Dutch Dames and the French Kership. In the end, the Dutch subsidiary managed to win the race and is currently working on the remodelling of the infrastructure in the port of Casablanca.
It is worth noting that Morocco has been undergoing a major rearmament in recent months. In the 2020 financial year, it has increased its military spending by 30 per cent and has exceeded 4.8 billion dollars, thus making a commitment to military defence on the international market. Last summer, Rabat purchased 36 combat helicopters worth $4.25 billion. In addition, Morocco processed the purchase of four MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones from the United States, the same model purchased by Spain. In this sense, the streamlining of the purchase of drones has been made possible after the sale of armed drones decreed by former President Donald Trump, which allows more countries to acquire this technology.
In addition, the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces could team up with GRSE, India's leading industrial supplier of warships for the supply of Royal Navy weaponry. According to a report from the Indian Defence Department, the GRSE has approached Morocco with a view to striking a deal for the supply of various warships to the country. Spain has also reportedly agreed to supply the Kingdom with an Avante 1800-class patrol vessel by 2024 valued at 130 million euros. However, the diplomatic crisis between the two countries since Spain's reception of Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali without prior consultation with Morocco has unleashed a fragile situation between the two kingdoms. This fragile situation has affected all diplomatic levels, especially cooperation and economic agreements. For the moment, it is not known whether this situation will disrupt the Alawi kingdom's acquisition of the Spanish vessels or whether, on the other hand, the agreement will continue.
