Morocco has procured ten Harpoon Block II (AGM-84L) anti-ship missiles and SLAM-ER (AGM-84H/K) cruise missiles from Boeing.
These acquisitions aim to enhance the capabilities of the Royal Moroccan Air Force, particularly with the integration of Harpoon missiles into the F-16 Viper fighter jets. The Royal Armed Forces are expected to receive 24 of these advanced jets by 2026.
The A/U/RGM-84 Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system that provides the Navy with a common missile for air and ship launches.
The Harpoon’s active radar guidance, warhead design, low-level cruise trajectory, and terminal mode sea-skim or pop-up maneuvers assure high survivability and effectiveness. The missile is capable of being launched from surface ships, submarines, shore batteries, or aircraft (without the booster).
The Harpoon Block II missiles, equipped with a 525 kg explosive warhead and a range of up to 280 km, represent the latest generation of anti-ship weaponry. Technical reports indicate that these missiles can precisely destroy floating targets and enemy naval assets, including aircraft carriers and landing ships.
To increase the capabilities of its Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft in naval warfare, the Royal Moroccan Air Forces announced in April 2020 that it seek to acquire Boeing AGM-84L Harpoon Block 2 anti-shipping missiles from the United States in a deal worth $62 million.
It was announced on Tuesday, 14 April 2020 by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) that the State Department had approved the sale of 10 Harpoon missiles to Morocco. The proposed sale includes containers, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, US Government and contractor representatives’ technical assistance, engineering and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support.
The Boeing AGM-84L Harpoon Block II missiles which Morocco requested to procure from the United States for its F-16s fighter jets will have reduced coastal targeting capabilities says the US. The Harpoon missiles to be supplied to Morocco are the “non-coastal target suppression” version, which will not be able to attack land targets, this is according to an April 27, 2022 US Federal Register arms sale notification.
One of the new capabilities of the Block II AGM-84L Harpoon is its substantially improved ability to find target ships sailing close to shore or in congested waters, as well as its ability to use its GPS-aided navigation to fly precisely to pre-launch programmed target coordinates.
“Block II is part of our spiral development plan for Harpoon,” said Jim O’Neill, Boeing general manager of Navy Missile Systems. “Harpoon has proven it is a naval precision-strike weapon that has the ability to attack surface ships and land targets at standoff ranges.”
Meanwhile, Morocco will receive BRU-57/A weapon release units to double the amount of smart bombs its F-16 fighter jets can carry. L3Harris Technologies announced in December 2022, a $29 million contract to provide smart weapon release systems to air forces in the Middle East and North Africa. The Bomb Release Unit BRU-57/A will allow F-16 fighter aircraft to carry two smart weapons on each hardpoint instead of one, doubling munitions capacity. The unit is compatible with 500 and 1,000lb guided weapons.
In addition to the anti-ship missiles, Morocco has also acquired medium and long-range cruise missiles designed for high-precision strikes on land and sea-based targets. These advanced weapons further enhance Morocco’s military capabilities.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon, initially developed by General Dynamics and now manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is a multirole aircraft still in service. Its first flight took place on February 2, 1974, and it was officially commissioned on August 17, 1978. As of April 25, 2019, 4,588 units had been built. The aircraft is powered by a Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 turbofan engine, producing 79 kN of thrust without afterburner and 130 kN with afterburner.
The F-16 features compact dimensions with a wingspan of 9.8 meters, a length of 14.8 meters, and a height of 4.8 meters, providing a wing area of 27.87 m². Its empty weight is 8,272 kg, while it can reach a maximum weight of 16,900 kg when fully loaded. In terms of performance, the F-16 can achieve a maximum speed of 2,173 km/h (Mach 2.04) and has an operational ceiling of 15,200 meters. Its climb rate is impressive, reaching 15,240 meters per minute, and it has a range of 550 km. The aircraft’s wing loading is 431 kg/m² and its thrust-to-weight ratio is 0.90.
The avionics of the F-16 are particularly advanced, including fly-by-wire controls, a head-up display, and a HOTAS (Hands On Throttle-And-Stick) system. Successive versions of the F-16 have seen the integration of increasingly sophisticated radars, from the AN/APG-66 to the AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. The aircraft is also equipped with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) radar, an ALR-56M radar warning receiver, GPS, Link 16 for secure communications, and an AN/ALQ-131 electronic warfare pod for jamming and defense missions.
During a recent meeting, the Council approved draft organic laws and decrees aimed at strengthening the military sector, reflecting Morocco’s unwavering commitment to improving its defense capabilities. The high-level discussions, led by the King, underscore the strategic importance placed on the development of the country’s defense industry.
This acquisition is part of Morocco’s broader strategy to modernize its armed forces and assert control over its maritime domain. Last week, King Mohammed VI chaired a Ministerial Council meeting that marked a step toward Morocco’s autonomy as a defense manufacturer.
As of today, the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) has 23 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft which it received between 2011 and 2012, having lost one over Yemen during combat operations.
Earlier in 2019, the Royal Moroccan Air Force intended to procure additional batch of F-16 Fighting Falcons from the United States and upgrade its existing fleet. Morocco requested for twenty-five units of the latest Block 72 fighters (F-16Vs) worth $3.8 billion. In response, the US State Department disclosed on 25 March that it is looking at approving a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Morocco of 25 F-16C/D Block 72 aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $3.787 billion.