Royal Moroccan Air Force receives first AH-64E Apache attack helicopters

The Royal Moroccan Air Force has received the first batch of 6 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, with the remaining 18 to be delivered in the coming months.

Here's What We Know

The helicopters have been delivered to the 7th Air Base in Khouribz. The delivery was originally scheduled for 2024, but was postponed. The rest of the machines are expected to arrive gradually by mid-2026.

An agreement between Morocco and the US Department of Defence to purchase 24 Apache combat helicopters was signed in June 2020. The helicopters will be equipped with the upgraded Longbow fire control radar, which has increased the target detection range from 8 to 16 km and can be used over water to combat surface targets.

The kingdom has purchased 18 Longbow radars, which is less than the number of helicopters, but this is a common practice due to the high cost of the equipment.

In short, in recent years, Morocco has been actively modernising its armed forces by purchasing Israeli Barak-8 SAMs, Caesar and Atmos 2000 howitzers, HIMARS missile systems, ATACMS missiles, and Cobra II armoured vehicles.

The country has also signed an agreement with India's Tata Group to jointly produce 150 WhAP armoured vehicles and create a subsidiary of the Turkish company Baykar. The new company, Atlas Defence, is headed by Lutfi Haluk Baykar and will be tasked with developing, manufacturing and maintaining UAVs and aviation equipment in Morocco.

Source: Anwar Press