Morocco has intensified its military armament policy in recent yearswith significant purchases of unmanned devices and air defense shields, some of which can even launch attacks, such as drones. As a training and testing ground for this technology, the Moroccan Air Force is deployed in real scenarios in Western Sahara, which is meant to fuel conflict with the Polisario Front.
After revealing in November 2020 that the Moroccan army had attacked the Guerguerat border crossing, the Saharan independence movement declared the ceasefire to be over, thus opening a new chapter in the dispute over the sovereignty of this region. alleged attacks on one side and the other and civilians. agency in early April. Sahara Press Service It was reported that the head of the Polisario Front National Guard, Addah Al-Bandir, was killed in an alleged airstrike ordered by Rabat, but there was never an official confirmation of this action. This would be the first time the Moroccan army has resorted to drone strikes in the conflict with the Polisario Front in almost half a century.
Polisario then rushed to strengthen himself, and to do so, he returned to the Islamic Republic of Iran by deploying kamikaze drones, known as “suicide planes,” onto the battlefield.. This decision escalated tensions, to which Rabat warned that enemy control of Iranian drones would be a reason to change the game “at the military level” and would respond with “an appropriate response”.
important for Ukraine
In October, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita accused Tehran of “sponsoring terrorism” in Western Sahara, and the Persian Gulf republic has not entirely denied the accusation. Sahara Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) Interior Minister Omar Mansour pointed out that his troops may soon resort to armed drones to repel the Moroccan occupation forces stationed in Western Sahara.
These drones are a key element of the war in Ukraine to stop the Russian invasion. Kyiv has come a long way thanks to the use of the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle, one of the models that Rabat also manages and whose troops have high combat experience.
Morocco has formalized the purchase of Turkish, Chinese, Israeli and American-made drones and plans to become the first African country to build a prototype model.Thanks to the cooperation agreements between the Government of Mohammed VI and Israel. For the purchase of these unmanned devices, Rabat could count on the financial support of the monarchies in the Persian Gulf, who would provide financial assistance to the Alevi monarchy.
Thus, Morocco takes the lead in such weapons against Spain, because the provincial government rejects the use of drones, questioning the reliability of this system, because by failing to detect their targets, it can cause collateral victims. This military doctrine of not using attack aircraft stems from the US war against Al Qaeda. In this conflict, several CIA operations resulted in the massacre of civilians. Among others, they attacked a family reunion without terrorists and killed forty daily workers by launching missiles from a drone programmed to designate the men arriving in vans as terrorist targets.
Distribution in the Canary Islands
The Spanish Army lacks training and experience in the use of munitions drones, but is gradually adding models such as: MQ-9 Predator B performing surveillance missions and reconnaissance of regional and national waters. This unmanned device is one of the largest in Spain and is stationed at the Lanzarote Military Airport in San Bartolomé. and at the Talavera la Real base in Badajoz, where the 23rd Wing of the Air Force is located. Until now, it was used in defensive air missions in response to attacks and movements of unidentified aircraft. In the Spanish Army Seeker III, an unmanned aerial vehicle model that uses full Israeli technology in its latest update and modernization. These devices were deployed in intelligence and surveillance missions in international Spanish missions, but were never used with weapons.
In this content, Morocco has intensified not only its military power but also its diplomatic power within the European Union, where it has deployed its military power. soft power and especially with Spain, after the Government of Pedro Sánchez changed direction regarding Western Sahara and Morocco’s proposal for autonomy for the Sahara region was publicly defended by prominent Spanish figures such as former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. or Jose Bono among others. For several weeks the European press has been coining the term. Moroccan and points out that this country is one of the countries that allegedly buys political will in the European Parliament to make geopolitical decisions in their own interests on sensitive issues such as trade and fisheries agreements and counter-terrorism cooperation. , control of immigrant flows, delimitation of the maritime border with the Canary Islands or conflict resolution with the former Spanish colony. A purported scheme of espionage, bribery and corruption to expand what is known as qatar gateSeveral MPs were involved in defending Qatar’s interests in Europe.