Check for more pictures and a deeper explanation of the war that took place.
A short reply to your postThe sand war in 1963
First I would like to clarify that this will not be a complete thread on this war. This post will not talk about the reason for the war, and every tiny detail around it. I will mention a few claims, and leave the rest of the information in the twitter post.
The information provided in the cia archive goes in line with the Moroccan view of the war. Morocco always made claims that algeria was supported by the The UAR (United Arab Republic) which was composed of a union between Egypt and Syria, as well as Libya and Cuba. Morocco made the claim after capturing officers including previous president Hosni Mubarak, who at the time held the rank of colonel in the Egyptian Air Force. He got captured in the Erfoud region in the kingdom of morocco with 5 other Egyptian officers boarded on a helicopter, which was tasked with reconnaissance of the Algerian-Moroccan border, and the combat zone.
Morocco captured the territories of tinjoub, hassi beida, and was only a few km from the tindouf- bechar road before the signing of the ceasefire. The americans were surprised that after weeks of encirclement and all the help received, the algerians still could not take the city of figuig in morocco. The brilliance of the Moroccan armed forces on the battlefield made the Americans wonder if the Grand Boumedienne (then Algerian Minister of Defense) was working for Morocco.
The sand war is the first, and last war where the Algerian army dared to face the Moroccan army in a direct confrontation. Other battles took place after the sand war but that will be discussed in another thread.
I will not post the Twitter post that shows the Cia archives
The nosecones of the F-5s are pretty limited in terms of available volume to accommodate radars with large antenna size. That requires a downscaling of available AESA radars on sale right now and that means lesser detection range and resolution.
I see, time will tell. It was actually a british millitary magazine that mentioned the delilah cruise missile from IA. They said that the f5 would carry the delilah, not the f1 mirage. Yes 70 f16 would be enough for now to defend our interest.
Yes that's why i said it's reported that morocco will go for another 20 f16 to cover the space when f1, and f5 will retire. 48 is the official numbers, and it seems like morocco will get delivered the vipers before the time you mentioned. Morocco has already received the first batch of 12, and the second batch is expected to enter the inventory in 2024. The initial order took place in secrecy late 2017. The rest of the 24 f16 block 52 will be modernized at the mro center by Moroccan engineers in cooperation with sabeena and locked martin. The 15 000 square meter center is being built right now, and will be finished by the end of this year.the LM factory are kinda busy right now and I forecast RMAF F-16 order to be delivered around 2027- early 2030 (I could only find RMAF order for further 25 tho, for a total of 48 not 70). Upgraded MF1 and F5 will soldier on till that time around.
Not sure if upgrading the F1 is wise tho, consider the F-16s isnt known to carry the AASM or any French weapons. Once retired all those AASM bombs will be wasted as no more platform are able to carry one.
If it was me, the F5 should be retired ASAP while the upgraded F1 repurposed for deep strike role, that'll free up the F-16 jocks to train more on principal air to air mission.
Even tho the F-16s are multirole, the pilots will have to divide their time training air to air or air to ground. They cannot really excel at both. The Algerians are kinda smart retaining their Su-24s for this exact reason.
And this is not only my concern, the US navy aviators has the exact dilemma trying to figure out what to do with their fighters.
The Strike Fighter Time Management Problem - War on the Rocks
U.S. Navy carrier air wings are not effectively managing their time, and this could cost America dearly given the centrality of the carrier to U.S. navalwarontherocks.com
You can find more information about BMS on page 23. The M1 abrams tanks have 2nd generation FLIR, and the rest of the tanks do off course have thermal viewers. Everything from the MBT-2000, T72, and m603. I do agree with you that a lot of things are not noticeable, and that's because morocco doesn't show its capabilities a lot in the media. Search for Moroccan military soldiers with night googles, and you won't find even 2 pictures. When it comes to infantry then I do think that morocco still lacks behind when it comes to equipment of the regular soldiers, but that will change within the next year. A huge budget of 12.8 billion USD will strengthen the Moroccan army, and the local defense industry in the coming years. A lot of changes will be made in the next 8 years all the way until 2030.
Night vision goggles and thermal devices are now top secrets!
Is this for real or just in planning stage? What defense contractors got the job to integrate these C4ISR ?
Im gonna be transparent with you, when it comes to the Moroccan military you don't find a lot of information about it in the media. That sucks for us who are interested in defense news. Most of the information I find when it comes to acquisition is most of the time based on articles made by either official US defence websites, or general American media outlets. I will try my best to answer your question.
