Morocco to bolster forces with 25 F16 fighters
The US Defense and Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced the approval of a sale of 25 F-16C/D Block 72 fighter jets for a cost of $3.8 billion to Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces.
The deal will further bolster Morocco’s air force supremacy in the region as the North African country plans to revamp its operating fleet of 23 F16 with state of the art electronic systems and weaponry for $983 million.
The deal will be effective once it receives the approval of the US congress. “The purchase will improve interoperability with the United States and other regional allies and enhance Morocco’s ability to undertake coalition operations, as it has done in the past in flying sorties against ISIS in Syria and Iraq,” the DSCA said in a statement.
The Moroccan military ordered 24 F-16s in 2008 and lost one in 2015 while taking part in the Saudi-led air operations in Yemen.
The F-16 Block 70/72 is the newest and most advanced F-16 configuration to date, with a structural life more than 50 percent beyond that of previous F-16 aircraft, according to Lockheed Martin. It features an active radar with new avionics and software that takes advantage of new technologies.
