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Rabat – Weeks after media reports that Morocco might have inaugurated its first air defense base near Rabat, satellite images have now emerged of the new military facility.
Defense News, a US-based newspaper that mostly covers military affairs, reported yesterday on satellite images it received from an anonymous source confirming the inauguration of the air military base in Sidi Yahia El Gharb near Rabat.
News of the existence of the facility first emerged in December 2021, with Spanish military-oriented news website Defensa reporting the inauguration of the new military base. But the Moroccan government has not yet released information on the defense facility.
In its December report, Defensa said the newly inaugurated military base will be dedicated to long-range air defense. The base houses high-profile military equipment, including China’s long-range air defense system FD-2000B, noted the Spanish website.
Confirming the existence of the military base, Defense News said the source who shared the satellite images with them did not share the “exact coordinates on the grounds of national security.”
Judging from the satellite images, Jeffrey Lewis, the head of the Asia Nonproliferation project at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, told Defense News, the recently established facility is “definitely an air defense base.”
The construction of the base began in 2017, he added, recalling Morocco’s recent military deals, including China North Industries Group Corporation’s delivery of the Sky Dragon medium-range surface-to-air missiles to the North African country.
Lewis also noted that Morocco recently acquired the French-made missile defense system VL Mika. The construction of the base “would suggest it was created with this large purchase in mind” and was likely completed in August 2020, he argued.
The news comes as Morocco’s government has been upgrading its military firepower by acquiring state-of-the-art equipment. in recent years.
The North African country is among the top 40 largest importers of major military equipment worldwide, according to a 2021 report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
“By the end of 2020 several large arms deliveries to Morocco remained outstanding, including for 24 combat aircraft and 24 combat helicopters from the USA. Morocco’s arms imports are likely to increase significantly in the coming five years if these orders are implemented as planned,” the report said.
