Royal Moroccan Air Force

Royal Moroccan Air Force القوات الجوية الملكية المغربية al-Quwwat al-Jawwiyah al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah Forces Royales Air
Active	1956 -
Country	Morocco
Branch	Air Force
Size	13,500 personnel 300 pilots
Part of	Administration of Defence إدارة الدفاع
Engagements	Western Sahara conflict
Commanders
Military Leadership	General Ahmed Boutaleb (Inspector of the Royal Air Force)
Civilian Leadership	King Mohammed VI (Commander-in-Chief)
Insignia
Roundel	File:FRA Roundel.png
Fin flash
Aircraft flown
Attack	Mirage F1CH/EH
Fighter	Mirage F1CH/EH,F-5A,F-5E Tiger II
Trainer	Alpha Jet E,T-34,T-37B,Hongdu JL-8,FFA AS-202/18 Bravo
Transport	C-130H Hercules,CASA CN.235M

The Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) (Arabic: القوات الجوية الملكية المغربية ; transliterated: 'al-Quwwat al-Jaoiyah al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah; French: Forces Royales Air) is the air force branch of the Moroccan Armed Forces.

History

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 aircraft 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" and 4 bombers Ilyushin Il-28. 24 training aircraft Fouga Magister were also received from France.

The political rift with the USSR, pushed Morocco to seek a new ally in the United States, acquiring from the latter 6 combat aircraft 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 aircraft, Beech T-34C Mentor training aircraft, Aerospatiale Puma helicopters, and new Hercules transport aircraft to substitute the older units.

From the Western Sahara Conflict to present

At the beginning of the conflict, the Fouga Magister aircraft were the first to see action. Later on, the F-5 aircrafts 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.

Moroccan Mirage F1CH

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.

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 December 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 aircraft, 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 aircraft, 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.

Airbases

• Rabat Salé (GMME) – Air Base Nº 1
• Meknes - Bassatine (GMFM) – Air Base Nº 2
• Kenitra (GMMY) – Air Base Nº 3
• Sidi Slimane (GMSL) – Air Base Nº 5
• Marrakech (GMMX) – Academy Base
• Laayoune (El Aaiún) - Hassan Island (GMML) – Detachment 1

Personnel

Currently the total number of the Royal Moroccan Air Force personnel is 13,500. 300 of these are pilots (According to Jane’s 1999).

Equipment

The Royal Moroccan Air Force flies a variety of Western-built airplanes, particularly French built aircraft. In 1998, the equipment of the Royal Moroccan Air Force consisted of :

Template:Standard table ! style="text-align: left; background: #aaccc;"|Aircraft ! style="text-align: left; background: #aaccc;"|Origin ! style="text-align: left; background: #aaccc;"|Type ! style="text-align: left; background: #aaccc;"|Versions ! style="text-align: left; background: #aaccc;"|In service |-----

| Mirage F1CH || France || fighter/Attack || Mirage F1CH

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Mirage F1CH || 30

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14||

|-----

| Northrop F-5 || United States || fighter/Attack || F-5A/B Freedom Fighter

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Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II || 32

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31 ||

|----- | OV-10 Bronco || United States || light attack/ surveillance || OV-10A Bronco || 6 || |----- | Hongdu JL-8 || China || trainer || Hongdu JL-8 || 20 || |-----

| Alpha Jet E || France

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Germany || trainer || Alpha Jet E || 22 ||

|----- | Cessna T-37 || United States || trainer || T-37B Dragonfly || 14 || |----- | T-34 Turbo Mentor || United States || trainer || || 12 || |----- | FFA AS-202/18 Bravo || United States || trainer || || 14 || |----- | C-130 Hercules || United States || transport || C-130H/RC-130 Hercules || 19 || |----- | CN-235 || Spain || Transport || CASA CN.235M || 7 || |----- | Boeing 707 || United States || tanker || Boeing 707 || 2 || |----- | C-130 Hercules || United States || transport || KC-130 Hercules || 3 || |----- | Aérospatiale Gazelle || France || attack Helicopter || Gazelle SA342K || 24 || |----- | Eurocopter Puma || France || transport helicopter || SNIAS Puma SA330C || 34 || |----- | Bell 205 || United States || transport helicopter || Bell AB205A Iroquois || 48 || |----- | CH-47 Chinook || United States || transport helicopter || CH-47C Chinook || 12 || |----- | Bell 212 || United States || transport helicopter || Bell AB212 || 5 || |----- | Sikorsky S-61 || United States || transport helicopter || Sikorsky S-61 || 4 || |----- | Bell 206 || United States || light helicopter || Bell AB206 || 22 || |----- |}

External links

• Scramble
• Moroccan air force fleet photos - airliners.net