The U.S. Department of Defense is expected to finalize an agreement for the delivery of 32 F-35 Lightning IIs, at an estimated cost exceeding $17 billion over 45 years, covering both procurement and maintenance. If confirmed, this acquisition would expand the Royal Moroccan Air Force’s inventory, which is currently centered on fourth-generation F-16 aircraft (Read more at Army Recognition).
Under the deal, Egypt will acquire $630 million worth of Lockheed Martin Hellfire missiles, spare parts, and training, alongside $30 million worth of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS). Additionally, Egypt will acquire $4.69 billion worth of equipment to support its M1A1 Abrams tank fleet, which it co-produces with the US. Meanwhile, Morocco received approval to purchase 500 GBU-39B Small Diameter Bombs valued at $86 million and $88.4 million worth of AIM-120C-8 air-to-air missiles for its F-16V jets (Read more at Africa.com).
Morocco is set to acquire 500 GBU-39B Small Diameter Bombs (SDB-I) from the United States, marking another significant step in the country’s military modernization efforts. The package also includes two GBU-39 (T-1)/B inert practice bombs with fuze, along with tactical training rounds, support equipment, spare parts, technical data, and personnel training (Read more at Morocco World News).
George Lombardi, senior advisor to former US President Donald Trump, has suggested that a second Trump administration could put a definitive end to the Western Sahara dispute by bringing Algeria and Polisario to negotiate on the terms of a political settlement. This assessment comes nearly four years after the Trump administration’s historic decision in December 2020 to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara (Read more at Morocco World News).
Considered the biggest such exercise in Africa, African Lion is joined by 7,000 elements of the armed forces from some 20 countries in Africa and countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). It added that the exercises includes combined day and night tactical, land, sea and air exercises, a special forces exercise, airborne operations and an operational planning exercise for Task Force staff (Read more at Arab Weekly).
