The Moroccan air force is interested in buying F-35 fifth-generation fighter jets from the United States, as the country has a predominantly third-generation fleet, but its status continues to decline in the face of rapidly expanding air combat capabilities in neighboring Algeria, multiple sources have reported. Algeria has been investing in fighter jets and ground-based air defenses since 2011, largely to deter Libya-style Western attacks, and the United States and its allies have shown some signs of training to simulate an attack on the African nation. However, tensions between Rabat and Algiers are often high, especially over Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara. The security challenges facing each other in Rabat and Algiers are further exacerbated by the fact that Morocco’s armed forces are closely integrated with NATO’s armed forces, and that Morocco and Jordan are one of only two Arab countries providing military equipment to Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia. However, the Moroccan air force is largely obsolete against Algerian air power, not only because of its very limited ground air defenses (Algeria is one of the most powerful in the world), but also because of its limited fighter capabilities.
Algeria’s multirole fighter force consists overwhelmingly of advanced “fourth generation plus” aircraft such as the Su-30MKA and MiG-29M/M2, most of which are heavy aircraft supported by medium MiGs, while the much smaller Moroccan fleet consists entirely of less advanced aircraft in the light or “ultralight” category. In addition to 23 fourth-generation F-16C/D fighters (baseline fourth-generation jets that use mechanically scanned radar and are currently considered obsolete), Morocco also fielded 22 F-5E/F and 26 Mirage F1 fighters, both very lightweight third-generation designs that have been considered obsolete for decades. Although Morocco is presumed to be receiving second-hand Mirage 2000 fighters from the United Arab Emirates, these fighters are comparable in size and performance to older F-16s, but still cannot match Algeria’s first-line Su-30MKA or second-line MiG-29M in performance. The Moroccan fighter’s electronic warfare capabilities and stand-off weapon capabilities are very limited, and the lack of stealth capabilities also makes the Moroccan fighter extremely vulnerable to Algeria’s ground air defense system. Indications are mounting that Algeria will buy the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jet from Russia, which may only make its dominance more overwhelming.
A growing number of Moroccan sources are calling on the country to seek to leverage its relationship with Israel to acquire the F-35, which is only sold to four non-Western countries, including South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Israel itself. In November 2021, a meeting between Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Moroccan Defense Minister Abdullatif Loudiy resulted in two further defense agreements, and Moroccan King Mohammed VI reportedly expressed interest in purchasing the F-35 with Israel’s help. The meetings come as the United Arab Emirates has made progress in licensing the F-35 fighter jet, partly because of its expanded relationship with Israel. Israel recently recognized Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara, Reported on July 17The relationship between the two countries has been further consolidated, and its influence in the United States has also become an important factor affecting the arms export policy to the Arab world. Israel and Algeria have a long history of conflict, with the former nearly launching an airstrike on the African country in the 1980s, only to be stopped by the latter’s deployment of high-end patrol interceptors.
Morocco itself, along with Jordan, has one of the Arab states’ longest histories of strategic cooperation with Israel, including passing sensitive intelligence on orders from Morocco’s King Hassan II before the Six-Day War that helped defeat Soviet-aligned Egypt and Syria.Major General Shlomo Ghazit, the former head of Israeli military intelligence, revealed in 2016 that the Shah had passedIsraeli intelligence recorded highly sensitive meetings of Arab leaders discussing their war plans, which were crucial in convincing Israel that Arab states were ill-prepared for war, allowing Israel to debunk Arab state bravado by launching an attack on June 5.
While Morocco’s ability to purchase the F-35 remains highly uncertain, wider export of the fighter to Third World countries remains a likely possibility well into the 2030s as the needs of the US’s NATO allies and Pacific partners are largely met. Selling the aircraft to Morocco could be very beneficial to Western interests, since all the F-35s are connected around the world, could provide more intelligence on the Algerian border, generate more revenue for the program, and put further pressure on Algeria’s defense. Especially the US fighter jets sold to the 3rd world are not only constantly degraded, but are also very tightly controlled in how they operate, including what bases they can deploy to and where they are allowed to fly, so Morocco’s use of the F-35 would not in any way harm the interests of the Western bloc. However, due to the cost and multiple vulnerabilities at the fighter level, the inevitably small purchases are not expected to significantly alter the military balance in Northwest Africa, especially given the types of assets Algeria has already deployed to potentially counter stealth aircraft.