The Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) has taken delivery of its first AH-64E Apache helicopter from the United States.
Deliveries of 24 aircraft were originally scheduled to take place from last year, but were delayed, with the first aircraft arriving in the North African country on Monday 3 March. Footage showed six of the rotorcraft being unloaded from a vessel.
Newly built Moroccan Apaches were seen on 27 January at Midland/Odessa Air Terminal in Texas on an overnight stop before heading east to board a ship for Morocco.
Anwar Press reported that the first six helicopters were delivered to the 7th Air Base in Khouribga, with the remaining rotorcraft to follow through mid-2026. The base has been upgraded to accommodate the new helicopters.
Boeing began manufacturing Morocco’s first AH-64Es in late 2023 after receiving an order for 24 in June 2020. The company is building the new Moroccan Apaches under a contract with the US Army through the US government’s Foreign Military Sales process, and has apparently completed the first ten.
In November 2019 Morocco requested the sale of 24 new helicopters and 12 options, along with AGM-114R/L Hellfire missiles, Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System munitions, AIM-92H Stinger missiles, M261 rocket launchers, 70 mm rockets and 30 mm cannon ammunition in a deal worth $1.5 billion.
The AH-64E that Morocco has ordered features an improved Modernized Target Acquisition Designation System that provides day, night and all-weather target information, as well as night vision navigation capability. In addition to classifying ground and air targets, Boeing said the Longbow Fire Control Radar has been updated to operate in a maritime environment.
Morocco has been seeking a new attack helicopter for some time. In early 2019, reports emerged that Morocco had selected the Apache over the T-129 ATAK and Bell AH-1Z. Morocco’s military has no dedicated attack helicopter, instead relying on two dozen Gazelles, which are flown by both Army Aviation and the Royal Moroccan Air Force.
Morocco is also acquiring other military aviation assets from the United States, including 25 F-16C/D Block 72 fighter jets to replace the Mirage F1s it received in the 1970s, the Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIs it received in the 1980s, and to augment and eventually replace the F-16C/Ds it received from 2011.
Other purchases from the US include 18 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers, M57 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) rounds, 40 AGM-154C Joint Stand Off Weapons (JSOW), and 612 FGM-148F Javelin missiles, among others.
Morocco is also seeking $175 million worth of AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and GBU-39B Small Diameter Bombs from the United States.
The North African country is keen to bolster its military capabilities amid rising regional tensions and boosted its defence budget for 2025 to about $13 billion. Its defence budget was $12 billion in 2024 and $11.4 billion in 2023, according to Morocco World News. The country is Africa’s second-largest military spender behind Algeria, which has a 2025 defence budget of $25.1 billion.
Recent Moroccan acquisitions from other countries include Barak MX air defence systems and two spy satellites from Israel, 40 Caesar self-propelled howitzers from France, 36 Atmos 2000 self-propelled howitzers from Israel, and 200 Cobra II armoured vehicles from Turkey.
An agreement was also signed in September 2024 with the Indian company Tata Group on the joint production of 150 wheeled WhAP infantry fighting vehicles.
In addition, the Kingdom agreed to establish a subsidiary of the Turkish company Baykar on its territory.
