Production begins on Apache helicopters for Morocco
Morocco will receive the first AH-64E Apache helicopters in a year's time. The Kingdom placed an order for 24 units that have already begun production at the Boeing Company's factory in Mesa, Arizona. This follows an equipment agreement reached between Rabat and Washington in 2020, making Morocco the 17th country in the world to have this advanced combat helicopter.
It is a step forward both for the Moroccan military and for the partnership between the Alawites and their increasingly close US partner. Boeing Mesa's vice president of attack helicopter programmes, Christina Upah, believes the Apache, "will enhance their defence forces for years to come", as, she says, it is "the most advanced and proven attack helicopter in the world".
Upah was also keen to stress his company's satisfaction at continuing to collaborate with what he considers a key partner, Morocco. "Boeing's partnership with the Kingdom of Morocco goes back decades, and I am proud that the Apache is now part of this legacy," she said. Morocco is already preparing for the arrival of these helicopters, even though they are not scheduled to arrive for at least a year.
The Jouribga base will be in charge of receiving the Apache helicopters when they leave the United States. It will be a long wait precisely because of the advanced system that these helicopters have, among which the company highlights their "communications, navigation, sensors and weapons systems". It also has an improved modernised target designation structure that provides "day, night and all-weather targeting information, as well as night-vision navigation capability".
Morocco will thus have what is expected to be one of the major advances for the Royal Moroccan Air Force (FAR), especially at a time of great instability. The tension with Algeria and the constant attacks by the Polisario Front are warning the Kingdom, which is going through a period of turmoil as it seeks to preserve the regional leadership against which the Algerians are trying to challenge, for the moment, without success.