Casablanca – The French Navy’s Guépratte light stealth frigate and the Royal Moroccan Navy’s Tarik Ben Ziyad frigate will arrive in Tangier on September 30 as part of the ongoing CHEBEC naval exercise between France and Morocco.
The two warships will make a stopover in Tangier after several days of training in the Mediterranean. The visit will include a VIP Day co-chaired by Rear Admiral Mohamed Tahin, Inspector of the Royal Moroccan Navy, and Vice Admiral Laurent Hermann, commander of the French Navy’s Mediterranean maritime zone. The event will allow the two sides to review the results of the latest operational phase.
Following the Tangier stopover, the two warships will conduct a joint operational patrol in the Alboran Sea. The patrol will put their procedures and capabilities to use in a shared maritime environment.
The French Navy and the Royal Moroccan Navy have been conducting the annual CHEBEC exercise since September 11. The exercise dates back to 1994 and forms part of the long-running operational cooperation between the two countries.
CHEBEC was initially focused on maritime security and safety but has since expanded to cover a wider range of naval warfare operations. It gives crews from both navies the opportunity to train together in real operating conditions.
The current edition began with a preparatory phase at the Toulon naval base and the Hyères naval air base in southern France. The crews then took part in training at sea along the route between Toulon and Tangier.
A French nuclear-powered attack submarine also took part in the exercise, allowing the two navies to expand their training in anti-submarine warfare. Its participation added another element to the operational activities carried out during the Mediterranean phase of CHEBEC.
The exercise is designed to improve the ability of the two navies to plan, coordinate and conduct joint operations. According to the French Embassy in Morocco, the training aims to ensure that the two forces can respond together, if necessary, to a crisis situation at sea.
CHEBEC has been held annually since its creation and remains part of the operational cooperation between the French and Moroccan navies.
