Royal Moroccan Air Force

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Royal Moroccan Air Force Insignia.

The Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) (Arabic: القوات الجوية الملكية المغربية ; transliterated: al-Qoat al-Jaoiyah al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah) is the official air force of Morocco. The Royal Moroccan Air Force flies a variety of Western-built airplanes, particularly French built aircraft.

1 History
- 1.1 The beginnings
- 1.2 From the Western Sahara Conflict to present
2 Airbases
3 Personnel
4 Equipment
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

[edit] The beginnings

The Moroccan air force was formed on November 19th, 1956 as the “Aviation Royale Chérifienne” (Sherifan Royal Aviation). Its modern installations and bases were inherited from France (Meknes, Rabat, Kenitra) and the United States (Benguérir, Boulhault, Nouasser and Sidi Slimane). The first acquisition of this newly formed air force was 6 Morane-Saulnier MS500 Criquet. 3 transport aircrafts Max Holste MH.1521 Broussard, 2 Beech E50 Twin Bonanza, 1 De Havilland DH114 Heron and 1 Bell 47G helicopter.

In 1961, it changed its name to "Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine" (Royal Moroccan Air Force), a denomination still used until now. In the same period, it obtained from the Soviet Union 12 MiG-17, 2 MiG-15UTI "Midget" y 4 bombers Ilyushin Il-28. 24 training aircrafts Fouga Magister were also received from France.

The political rift with the URSS, pushed Morocco to seek a new ally in the United States, acquiring from the latter 6 combat aircrafts Northrop F-5 (4 single-seat F-5A and 2 two-seat F-5B) and in 1966 other 20 F-5A and 4 F-5B. As to the transport units, they had at that moment 10 Douglas C-47, 18 Fairchild C-119G y 6 C-130 Hercules. The helicopter fleet was composed of 24 Augusta-Bell AB205A, and training was satisfied with 60 North American T-6 Texan. The next modernization of the Moroccan air force took place just before the Sahara conflict, with the acquisition of Mirage F-1CH attack aircrafts, Beech T-34C Mentor training aircrafts, Aerospatiale Puma helicopters, and new Hercules transport aircrafts to substitute the older units.

[edit] From the Western Sahara Conflict to present

At the beginning of the conflict, the Fouga Magister aircrafts were the first to see action. Later on, the F-5 aicrafts were thrown into action, to strike against Polisario targets. From the beginning, the objective of Morocco was to create a controlled and safe zone in the area considered as “useful” for its political and economic interests, that is, the Capital Al-Aaiun, the religious center Smara, and the phosphate field of Bu-Craa.

In 1980, they started building the defensive walls of the Sahara, consisted of every type of obstacles for the infantry, and the armoured vehicles (mines, radars, etc...), all backed by Quick Intervention Units (Détachements d'Intervention Rapide) able to move to and reinforce quickly every location along the wall thanks to air-transport composed of Super Puma, AB-205 and CH-47 Chinook helicopters.

As to the anti-tank defense, it was decided additionally to use light helicopters Hughes 500MD with TOW missiles to neutralize the T-54, T-55 and BMP tanks of Polisario. And apart from the ground radars of the Wall, Two C-130 Hercules with SLAR system were also used for the detection of enemy units. After the loss of 1 F-5A and 2 RF-5A in the battles, 20 F-5E "Tiger II" y 4 F-5F were acquired thanks to the Saudi financial support.

The main problem that faced the F-5 in Western Sahara, was its insufficient range to realize missions in depth in the vast battlefield of the Sahara desert. To remediate this problem, 4 tankers were purchased to provide the Moroccan “Freedom Fighters” with air-to-air refueling (AAR), and consequently increase their attack range. The Mirage F-1 during the beginning of the conflict were responsible of defending the air-space before a possible Libyan or Algerian attack, which supported both financially and politically the Polisario front.

System of the Moroccan Walls in Western Sahara (territory outside them in yellow

In 1977, the Moroccan Mirage pilots started their training in an Air-force base located in Orange, France. In this same year, the Moroccan Air Force started receiving its first Mirage F-1C fighters. Finally, Libya and Algeria did not attack Morocco, and consequently Morocco destined its Mirages to ground-attack missions against Polisario. 3 Mirage Deliveries were received between 1978 and 1982. The first delivery were 30 Mirage F1-CH received between February and December, 1978. The second one, was received between Decembre 1979 and July 1982 and comprised 14 Mirage F1-EH. Between July 1980 and June a final delivery of 6 Mirage F-1EH-200 was received. During the 90’s there were plans for purchasing Mirage 2000 or F-16 fighter aircrafts, however due to unavailable funding they have not been realized. Currently, and possibly as a result of the Algerian negotiations with Russia to purchase MiG-29 and Su-30MKA attack aircrafts, the Royal Moroccan Air Force is seeking to modernize its ageing fleet, and according to some sources, Moroccan authorities are already negotiating with Dassault to acquire between 12 and 18 Rafale fighters.