The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and the Utah National Guard have conducted lately a joint training on small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS) in Agadir as drones continue to shape modern military operations.
The training brought together U.S. military organizations, including the Combined Arms Training Center, 7th Army Training Command, from U.S. Army Garrison Vilseck, Germany, to develop UAS operators and instructors while strengthening interoperability and information sharing between U.S. and Moroccan military forces.
“Events like this give us an opportunity to take an emerging capability and turn it into something our forces can actually use,” said Lt. Col. Corbett Baxter, Southern European Task Force – Africa.
“By training together with our Moroccan partners, we’re building interoperability while learning how to integrate unmanned systems into larger operations and make the force more capable and lethal,” he added.
For the Utah National Guard, the engagement also supports the development of an emerging drone program designed to build capability for homeland defense, as well as an opportunity to work together with active-duty counterparts and Moroccan partners.
“The SUAS training provided us with essential knowledge and practical skills including drone piloting, mission planning, meteorology, safety, and instruction,” said Sergent-chef Mohammed Idamr, a course participant assigned to the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.
“It strengthened our understanding of the role of SUAS in supporting military missions and enhancing situational awareness, while also helping us train qualified personnel and improve the tactical employment of drones within the Armed Forces. of how SUAS can support military missions and improve situational awareness. This training is also an opportunity to develop qualified personnel and improve the tactical employment of drones within the Armed Forces.”
The event represents a collaborative effort involving U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), CATC, 7th Army Training Command and U.S. Army Garrison Vilseck, alongside the Utah National Guard and Moroccan Royal Armed Forces. Each organization contributes to the broader effort to develop UAS knowledge and training capabilities while supporting the long-standing partnership between the U.S. and Morocco.
The course builds on the Utah National Guard’s 23-year State Partnership Program with Morocco and a long history of cooperation between the United States and the North African nation.
