Morocco receives first batch of Turkish Bayraktar Akinci drones

The Royal Armed Forces of Morocco have received the first batch of Bayraktar Akinci combat drones, according to the semi-official military source Forum FAR Maroc. 

This type of drone is one of the most advanced in the military field and is manufactured by the Turkish aviation and defence company Baykar.

At the end of last year Morocco had already agreed to acquire this type of drone and now it would have received the first batch, just three years after it had received 19 TB2-type drones from the same Turkish company.

The Bayraktar Akinci is a powerful drone capable of launching supersonic missiles at a distance of over 150 kilometres. This unmanned aircraft is a very important addition to the Moroccan fleet and tests for the integration of ballistic missiles by the also Turkish company Roketsan were studied. The aircraft has a high altitude flight capacity that allows it to stay in the air for more than 24 hours uninterrupted at a maximum altitude of 12,200 metres.

The Akinci can carry out operations that are performed by fighter planes, using advanced systems such as electronic support, duplicate satellite communication, air-to-air radar, anti-collision radar and synthetic aperture radar. This allows it to be deployed in air defence and surface attack missions.

Among the advanced functions it integrates are an error-resistant system architecture, redundant actuator units, a redundant surface control station and autonomous take-off and landing independent of the ground control system. 

The first batch of the Akinci model went to the Ottoman Army in August 2021 and now it has arrived for the Moroccan Armed Forces.

A military link between Morocco and Turkey that is being consolidated. Proof of this is that the Turkish company Baykar itself established a military industrial infrastructure in the Moroccan region of Benslimane months ago to assemble and manufacture a special type of drone, which is yet another step forward for the Moroccan arms industry, and that the Alaouite kingdom itself recently expressed interest in acquiring the Bayraktar Kizilelma unmanned combat aircraft when a delegation from the Moroccan Armed Forces, led by General Fouad Moumen, visited the ADEX 2024 Fair in Azerbaijan. Fouad Moumen himself met with Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of the Turkish company Baykar, which demonstrates the deep contacts between Turkey and Morocco for cooperation in the military area, specifically with regard to drones or unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV). 

Morocco is seeking to strengthen its military aviation industry through an alliance with the Turkish company Baykar in order to establish a factory to produce combat drones in the North African country. Morocco is seeking to establish a drone technology industry on national soil through the Moroccan company Atlas, which specialises in aerospace industries. 

The agreement with Baykar includes the establishment of local production lines for the Bayraktar TB-2 and Akinci drones, which are among the most advanced drones in the world, and the Moroccan company Atlas plans to produce 1,000 aircraft annually, which will boost the national defence industry and reduce dependence on imports. 

Morocco thus benefits from this alliance with Turkey, a country known for its great advances in the drone industry for surveillance and military use.