The Moroccan military defense industry
The ideal structure of the Moroccan defense industry
the structure of the defense industry is unknown since the law was passed in 2020. There are no names of any companies or any state defense company like Jordanian (Jordanian Design and Development Bureau/JODDB. As far as I am concerned, we haven't even appointed an agency for defense industries and a ministry for our defense industries. In many countries, you have a head of the defense industry who is the president and part of The Defense Industry Executive Committee with the Head of State is the King/President, followed by the Chief of Defense, the Commander, the Minister of the Interior, and the Minister of Finance.
If we do not create a structure in our defense industry, we will never see any unexpected explosive growth or any major progress. This is a must to distribute our resources in the best way, supervise them and report them directly to the King. This should be a good start for Morocco. It's confirmed that we have started production of different types of reconnaissance, and attack drones, as well as Ammunition.
We must first create two large state corporations with different purposes. The Defense Industry Agency and the commission would then be tasked with regulating or encouraging private companies to produce weapons in the untouched areas. Yes, private companies will have the option to invest in what they think, but our agency should encourage them to invest in areas that have potential and are untapped so that we don't suddenly have 10 companies producing, say, nightly googles. After a few decades when our defense industry has matured, we can benefit from competitiveness between companies working in the same field.
Big Companies I would love to see
The major state companies that I would like to see are the following:
- Moroccan Aerospace Industries ( Already established, often referred to by the name "AERO-MAROC").
(Technology center in design, development, manufacturing, aviation systems integration, and modernization). The company must have manufacturing capabilities ranging from parts manufacturing to aircraft assembly, flight testing, and delivery. In the beginning, they could get a license and produce everything from the F16 to helicopters like the Black Hawk. Also, the production of drones can be part of this one company or a separate company.
At the moment we have a well-established aviation industry with big companies like Thales, Boeing, Safran, Airbus, and so on. We must attract the most qualified personnel from these companies to our pure Moroccan airline focused on the defense segment. Our local input rate is between 40-50 %.
- The Moroccan aerospace industry could have a subsidiary called for example MEI (Moroccan Engine Industries)
With a primary focus on manufacturing licensed engines for our combat aircraft, as well as for our helicopter fleet. They can produce f110 turbofan engines for our f16 vehicles, as well as turboshaft engines for our Apaches, as well as our utility/transport helicopters. Morocco already has an ecosystem when it comes to engines for both civilian aircraft, but also military engines through different companies. Safran is one of the most well-established in Morocco when it comes to engines for military use.
- Moroccan Naval Shipbuilding Company.
Moroccan companies have their own shipyards or can use public shipyards to build ships. The company can obtain technology transfer and also build some ships in Morocco. We will learn how to build and repair our hulls as well as design them. The Casablanca shipyard will have the capacity to build simultaneously 6 medium-sized boats on the lifting platform (5000 tonnes).
- A Moroccan company specializing in weapons such as pistols and assault rifles.
The company will first start obtaining a license to produce assault rifles to replace the aging AK47 and M16. This will help them to slowly start producing different parts of the gun with the necessary machinery. In the future, the company will have the expertise to make our original rifles.
- A Moroccan software and systems company
Active in command and control systems, combat/battle management systems as well as reconnaissance, surveillance, and intelligence systems. We can get a TOT in the beginning, as well as build a complete program from scratch with a foreign company where we can access the source codes or configure ourselves with them.
- A Moroccan Rocket/Missile company
Specialized in the design, development, and manufacture of rockets and missiles. We can start producing a license for all of our rockets and other types of submunitions. This can be everything from cruise missiles, all the way to artillery shells or ammunition for guns.
-Moroccan defense electronic company
Everything from radars, communications, electronic warfare, avionics, air defenses/missile systems, and a wide range of products spanning all sectors of our defense industry. Everything from air defense radars and electronic warfare systems to smaller electronic equipment like nighttime goggles. It is perhaps one of the most important companies in our defense industry.
-Moroccan Military Vehicles Company.
Specialized in the production of vehicles of all kinds. Everything from the production of tank parts, as well as the licensed production of IFVs, MRAPS, and APCs. The company can also have its own engine/transmission division where we can produce 400hp, 600hp, 1000hp, and 1500hp for our tanks and vehicles. Also possible to make our own vehicles with help in design, and support.
All companies will be specialized in different fields, and have different numbers in the percentage of localization. Even if we have obtained production licenses in many fields, we should always aim to produce the parts with the highest localization ratio. This will be the first step for us to mature, and gain experience from our first joint production projects. In-house production will save us time, eliminate headaches, reduce production costs, as well as be a good contributor to our economy. One thing I forgot to add is that Morocco should have a company that only specializes in research and development.
The ideal structure of the Moroccan defense industry
the structure of the defense industry is unknown since the law was passed in 2020. There are no names of any companies or any state defense company like Jordanian (Jordanian Design and Development Bureau/JODDB. As far as I am concerned, we haven't even appointed an agency for defense industries and a ministry for our defense industries. In many countries, you have a head of the defense industry who is the president and part of The Defense Industry Executive Committee with the Head of State is the King/President, followed by the Chief of Defense, the Commander, the Minister of the Interior, and the Minister of Finance.
If we do not create a structure in our defense industry, we will never see any unexpected explosive growth or any major progress. This is a must to distribute our resources in the best way, supervise them and report them directly to the King. This should be a good start for Morocco. It's confirmed that we have started production of different types of reconnaissance, and attack drones, as well as Ammunition.
We must first create two large state corporations with different purposes. The Defense Industry Agency and the commission would then be tasked with regulating or encouraging private companies to produce weapons in the untouched areas. Yes, private companies will have the option to invest in what they think, but our agency should encourage them to invest in areas that have potential and are untapped so that we don't suddenly have 10 companies producing, say, nightly googles. After a few decades when our defense industry has matured, we can benefit from competitiveness between companies working in the same field.
Big Companies I would love to see
The major state companies that I would like to see are the following:
- Moroccan Aerospace Industries ( Already established, often referred to by the name "AERO-MAROC").
(Technology center in design, development, manufacturing, aviation systems integration, and modernization). The company must have manufacturing capabilities ranging from parts manufacturing to aircraft assembly, flight testing, and delivery. In the beginning, they could get a license and produce everything from the F16 to helicopters like the Black Hawk. Also, the production of drones can be part of this one company or a separate company.
At the moment we have a well-established aviation industry with big companies like Thales, Boeing, Safran, Airbus, and so on. We must attract the most qualified personnel from these companies to our pure Moroccan airline focused on the defense segment. Our local input rate is between 40-50 %.
- The Moroccan aerospace industry could have a subsidiary called for example MEI (Moroccan Engine Industries)
With a primary focus on manufacturing licensed engines for our combat aircraft, as well as for our helicopter fleet. They can produce f110 turbofan engines for our f16 vehicles, as well as turboshaft engines for our Apaches, as well as our utility/transport helicopters. Morocco already has an ecosystem when it comes to engines for both civilian aircraft, but also military engines through different companies. Safran is one of the most well-established in Morocco when it comes to engines for military use.
- Moroccan Naval Shipbuilding Company.
Moroccan companies have their own shipyards or can use public shipyards to build ships. The company can obtain technology transfer and also build some ships in Morocco. We will learn how to build and repair our hulls as well as design them. The Casablanca shipyard will have the capacity to build simultaneously 6 medium-sized boats on the lifting platform (5000 tonnes).
- A Moroccan company specializing in weapons such as pistols and assault rifles.
The company will first start obtaining a license to produce assault rifles to replace the aging AK47 and M16. This will help them to slowly start producing different parts of the gun with the necessary machinery. In the future, the company will have the expertise to make our original rifles.
- A Moroccan software and systems company
Active in command and control systems, combat/battle management systems as well as reconnaissance, surveillance, and intelligence systems. We can get a TOT in the beginning, as well as build a complete program from scratch with a foreign company where we can access the source codes or configure ourselves with them.
- A Moroccan Rocket/Missile company
Specialized in the design, development, and manufacture of rockets and missiles. We can start producing a license for all of our rockets and other types of submunitions. This can be everything from cruise missiles, all the way to artillery shells or ammunition for guns.
-Moroccan defense electronic company
Everything from radars, communications, electronic warfare, avionics, air defenses/missile systems, and a wide range of products spanning all sectors of our defense industry. Everything from air defense radars and electronic warfare systems to smaller electronic equipment like nighttime goggles. It is perhaps one of the most important companies in our defense industry.
-Moroccan Military Vehicles Company.
Specialized in the production of vehicles of all kinds. Everything from the production of tank parts, as well as the licensed production of IFVs, MRAPS, and APCs. The company can also have its own engine/transmission division where we can produce 400hp, 600hp, 1000hp, and 1500hp for our tanks and vehicles. Also possible to make our own vehicles with help in design, and support.
All companies will be specialized in different fields, and have different numbers in the percentage of localization. Even if we have obtained production licenses in many fields, we should always aim to produce the parts with the highest localization ratio. This will be the first step for us to mature, and gain experience from our first joint production projects. In-house production will save us time, eliminate headaches, reduce production costs, as well as be a good contributor to our economy. One thing I forgot to add is that Morocco should have a company that only specializes in research and development.