Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces and U.S. Africa Command signed on Monday a Headquarters Memorandum of Understanding (HQ MoU) of the Africa Multidomain Training and Experimentation Center to be established in Tan-Tan by 2030.
The agreement was signed at AFRICOM Headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. AMTEC will include a multidomain training area, a drone academy and an Innovation and Experimentation Center, said AFRICOM in a press release.
“Morocco’s readiness—demonstrated by our existing facilities and skilled personnel—ensures rapid progress from concept to operational reality and provides the Morocco and U.S. industries with a reliable and capable partner for joint innovation and export opportunities,” said Lt. Gen. Mohammed Berrid, Inspector General of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces & Commander of the Southern Zone.
The MDTA range complex will provide dedicated physical space to ensure forces and systems are prepared to operate effectively in any environment. A key feature of the MDTA is the ability to operate in the full electro-magnetic spectrum as well as contested environments.
The Drone Academy will train operators, planners, and instructors from Morocco and African partner nations to enhance their counter-terrorism capabilities against threats in West Africa. This will give students the knowledge and skills to integrate sUAS into the broader scheme of maneuver, with a focus on airspace deconfliction, multidomain integration, strike capabilities and intelligence, and surveillance and reconnaissance synchronization.
The Innovation and Experimentation Center will rapidly develop, test and evaluate emerging capabilities with a focus on low-cost, scalable solutions for counterterrorism and regional security operations. Collaboration efforts will seek to partner with academia, embedding academic experts and institutions into cross-functional design teams.
“The Africa Multidomain Training and Experimentation Center will increase readiness and advance capabilities of both nations,” said Gen. Dagvin Anderson, commander of U.S. Africa Command.
“This partnership represents a great opportunity for U.S. and African defense industrial bases as well as academic institutions to experiment, innovate and develop scalable, adaptable solutions across emerging technologies”, he added.
This initiative opens the door to pioneering new network capabilities in remote and underserved areas, supporting security and economic development, as well as offering U.S. and Moroccan industry developers low-cost opportunities for testing and experimentation.
AMTEC will serve as a testbed for future wireless and sensing technologies, ensuring U.S. investments in innovation translate into operational capabilities that protect both nations and drive joint industrial growth.
African Lion 2027 will serve as a proof of concept for AMTEC.
The annual African Lion exercise, hosted in Morocco, is a proving ground for integrating cutting-edge technologies directly into operational environments. Industry partners work alongside service members to test AI-enabled systems, autonomous platforms, and advanced communications tools, accelerating the transition from concept to capability.
