Marrakech – Morocco has taken on a new role in global defense testing after an American startup fired a long-range cruise missile in the country’s south. Covenant Industries carried out a live launch of its Anthem missile on August 6 near Tan-Tan, in a joint exercise involving the United States military and the Royal Armed Forces.
The launch was the first live-fire demonstration at the new Africa Multidomain Training and Experimentation Center, known as AMTEC. The facility, built through cooperation between Washington and Rabat, is intended to become a permanent site for testing advanced warfare technologies.
During the test, US and Moroccan forces worked alongside company engineers to set up a temporary launch site in the dunes near Tan-Tan.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the teams checked the missile’s communications systems, launch mechanisms, and the real-time collection of communications and climate data. Calcalist reported that they also evaluated the maneuverability of the missile’s wings, tires, and launch trolley, along with weather and targeting data.
The operation was not a full deployment. Calcalist noted that it was designed to gather data for further development, showing that the missile could be launched in a realistic setting while the path to mass production remains long. Haaretz said that the missile had already undergone an initial test the previous month during a US exercise in California.
A low-profile defense startup
Covenant was founded in 2024 and has kept an unusually low profile, with no official website. The company is registered in the United States, with subsidiaries in Israel and Germany.
Haaretz and Medias24 described it as Israeli-American, with development carried out in Israel. Its founder, Michael Kaufman, previously worked at a fund owned by investor Peter Thiel before establishing the firm.
The company has raised hundreds of millions of dollars. Both the Jerusalem Post and Calcalist listed Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz among its backers, while Haaretz added Lux Capital, 8VC, and Lightspeed. Medias24 revealed that Covenant is valued at more than one billion dollars.
Anthem is the company’s flagship product. It is designed as a cheaper alternative to heavy cruise missiles such as the US Tomahawk, easier to mass-produce while keeping long-range and precision strike capability.
Abby Denburg, Covenant’s chief growth officer and president, told reporters the firm is preparing to begin delivering “production-ready assets for our manufacturing line” at the start of 2027.
Why Morocco?
The Tan-Tan launch was made possible by a new US Army program that opens military testing ranges to private companies. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll announced the initiative, pointing out that companies have historically waited 12 to 18 months to secure access to major testing facilities. The Army now aims to grant access within 30 days of a request.
Five ranges are included in the program. Four are domestic: Camp Grayling in Michigan, Camp Shelby in Mississippi, the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Morocco’s Multidomain Training Area is the only international site, and Covenant was the first company to use the system.
AFRICOM initially withheld the manufacturer’s identity, referring only to a “US defense technology startup.” Medias24 reported that the Associated Press (AP) and the US Secretary of the Army later identified the company as Covenant and the missile as Anthem.
The test fits a wider effort to build AMTEC in Tan-Tan. Business Insider Africa wrote that the planned center will bring together a Multidomain Training Area, a Drone Academy, and an Innovation and Experimentation Center, with completion expected by 2030. The project follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Morocco and US Africa Command.
The initiative also unfolds amid concerns over US munitions stocks. TIME pointed to the timing of the announcement, which came days after President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed over a missile shortage tied to the war with Iran, though officials denied it was a response. In June, Politico disclosed that Germany was weighing Covenant’s system among lower-cost options.
Covenant declined to comment, according to Haaretz.
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