Troops of the Sands ready to battle in the deserts of the Maghreb
King Mohammed VI is not only the nominal supreme commander in chief but also the real head of the Moroccan army.
Photo by Reuters
Moroccans have always been considered excellent warriors. For centuries they opposed the European conquerors, and during the First and Second World Wars they were part of the French army. The contribution of Moroccan soldiers to the defeat of the Italian fascist units in Libya in 1940, to the liberation of Marseille, the battles for Stuttgart and Tubingen is undeniable. On the fields of World War II, about eight thousand Moroccan troops were killed and tens of thousands were injured. More than a thousand Moroccans, five hundred of them posthumously, have been awarded French, British and American orders and medals.
The Royal Army of Morocco (KAM) originated in 1956, when the country gained independence and the sultanate that existed here received the status of a kingdom. It was then that the scattered partisan detachments of the Liberation Army opposing the French were consolidated into corps, which were commanded by King Mohammed V (1909-1961) and General Mohammed Ufkir (1920-1972). It should be noted that General Ufkir was also the last Minister of Defense of Morocco. After the coup attempts and assassination attempts on King Hassan II (1929-1999), the son of Mohammed V, undertaken by the military in July and August, 1971 and 1972, respectively, the attitude of the royal family to the army changed. Part of the funds intended for the army was transferred to the gendarmerie. All warehouses with weapons were at the disposal of the same structures. The combat capability of the KAM dropped sharply. General Ufkir, who gave the order to shoot down the plane in which the monarch was on August 16, 1972, after learning about the failure of the conspiracy, committed suicide.
Attempts at coups and assassination attempts forced Hasan II to pay close attention to maintaining loyalist sentiments in the officer corps. By order of the monarch, a wide range of benefits for military personnel was developed. Among the command staff, along with the Arabs, Berbers also appeared. The most important criterion for promotion was personal loyalty to the regime.
It must be said that since the second half of the last century, Morocco has considered Algeria its main enemy. A serious conflict between the two countries broke out in 1963, when both Rabat and Algeria declared their claims to Western Sahara, after the Spanish troops left there. This war was called the "War in the Sands". In memory of her, the "army of the sands" and began to be called the royal armed forces of Morocco.
Today the total number of KAM is approaching three hundred thousand. Today, in North Africa, only the Egyptian army surpasses the Moroccan army in terms of the number of troops. KAM is completed both on the basis of military service and on a contract basis. The term of conscript military service is one and a half years. Officers are trained in the military infantry school, in the military and in the military medical schools. The highest army cadres are graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff, located in the city of Kenitra. Moroccan military schools train personnel for most of the countries of Francophone Africa.
The current King Mohammed VI, who is in one person both the Supreme Commander and the Chief of the General Staff, exercises leadership of the armed forces through the National Defense Administration (essentially the Ministry of Defense) and the General Staff.
The basis of the KAM is made up of ground forces (Land Forces), the number of which reaches 160 thousand people. Organizationally, the ground forces include the royal guard and military formations of the Northern and Southern military zones. The combat strength of the SV includes motorized infantry and airborne brigades, motorized infantry regiments, tank, armored infantry, infantry, mountain infantry, armored cavalry and cavalry battalions, artillery and anti-aircraft artillery divisions. The ground forces are armed with tanks, field artillery, mortars, anti-aircraft guns and anti-tank weapons. Technique is mainly of the Western type. Various anti-aircraft missile systems are of Soviet production, and a number of artillery systems are of Czech production. In general, the weapons are rather outdated. Since the late 90s of the last century, Moroccans have purchased used T-72 tanks in Belarus.
It is significant that in 2009 Rabat refused to purchase Chinese Type-90-II tanks in favor of the American M-60A2. The production of overseas tanks of this series has long been completed, but the Moroccans hope that the same Americans will help them with the modernization. In 2010, it is expected to complete the supply of 102 Belgian armored vehicles to the Moroccan army, an agreement on which was signed two years earlier. At the same time, Morocco does not exclude the purchase of Russian-made armored vehicles.
According to the Moroccan Journal of Ebdomader, Rabat reacted with considerable suspicion to Russia's “loud return” to the military market of the countries of the Maghreb region.
The Moroccans believe that Moscow has “historically favored” Algeria, which, thanks to Russian aid, could overtake Morocco in the arms race. In fact, Moscow views Rabat as an equally important partner than any other Arab state. Back in 2006, Russia expressed its readiness to supply Morocco with third-generation infantry fighting vehicles (BMP-3). However, the matter did not come to the signing of the corresponding agreement. In 2007, Moscow delivered the Tunguska air defense system to Rabat.
Apparently, Muhammad VI takes an example from Egypt and plans to create a military industry in his kingdom, capable, above all, of producing ammunition and small arms. This is just one reason that, in principle, Rabat concludes little new agreements on the supply of weapons, military equipment and equipment from abroad. Another reason for this phenomenon is that the king is trying to change the practice of purchasing military goods. Mohammed VI has no doubts that his generals will receive multimillion-dollar kickbacks when concluding such "agreements". Therefore, he instructed the chief of intelligence and his personal friend Yasin Mansuri to develop a procurement system in which kickbacks would be excluded. Nevertheless, the king approved the delivery of military goods from the United States, France, Russia and the Republic of Belarus over the next two years, worth 64 billion dirhams (7.5 billion dollars).
Seven battalions of camel cavalry belong to the Moroccan army. And although the great Arab medieval poet Abul-Ala al-Maari wrote that they “strike the enemy with a reed spear”, modern battalions of camel cavalry are undoubted combat units that should not be considered only as exotic. Camels are adapted to life in the desert. Callous feet, unlike horse hooves, give them excellent flotation in sands. And although these "ships of the desert" run reluctantly, they pass their 50 kilometers a day without running out of breath.
Ordinary cavalry, if it finds itself in the sands, is forced to carry on itself not only provisions for soldiers, ammunition and water, but also fodder for horses. Camels can go without food and water for weeks. Camels are also used in battle to create "living fortresses". In these cases, animals, packs and saddles are laid on the sand in a certain position, behind which the fighters are taking cover. It is convenient to conduct reconnaissance from the height of camels. At the same time, one cannot ignore their high cross-country ability in any terrain. By the way, camel companies, in which Bashkirs were mainly recruited as drivers, were also in the Russian army during the era of the Napoleonic wars.
The Moroccan Air Force, numbering 12 thousand flight and support personnel, includes tactical aviation squadrons: three fighter-bomber, two fighter and two combat training. The Air Force also includes four squadrons of military transport and training aviation, as well as two aviation groups and an army aviation battalion. Tactical fighters are dominated by American F-5s and French Mirages of various types. Also on display are attack aircraft "Alpha Jet" and a number of other aircraft. There are 110 combat helicopters in the fleet, mainly Gazelle and Chaparel.
Currently, the command of the Moroccan Air Force is considering the possibility of acquiring Russian MI-35 attack helicopters and MI-17 multipurpose helicopters.
Moscow may provide assistance to Rabat as a provider of launch services in connection with the desire of Moroccans (by the way, and other countries in the region) to acquire their own Earth remote sensing satellites. Such spacecraft, which first appeared in the arsenals of Egypt, Algeria and Morocco in 2007, may well be used for reconnaissance purposes. In this regard, it should be noted that at the end of 2006, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia announced their intention to develop nuclear energy. Of course, for peaceful purposes.
In 2007, Libya joined these countries. Meanwhile, it should be borne in mind that a state with a certain potential for nuclear energy can quickly switch to military programs.
According to reports published in the Moroccan weekly Le Tan, in 2009 Rabat signed a contract with Jerusalem worth more than $ 100 million, according to which the Israelis will supply them with equipment for refueling F-16s in the air. Morocco and Israel plan to intensify military cooperation amid the intensification of Islamist terrorist groups and Iran's nuclear ambitions. This is despite the fact that Moroccan units as part of the Syrian troops participated in the Yom Kippur War in October 1973.
Unlike Egypt, Morocco lacks a unified air defense system. Almost all air defense systems are part of the ground forces and carry out missions to cover the capital, administrative centers, oil fields, airfields and major military facilities. In August 2000, Russia signed a $ 734 million contract with Morocco, under which Rabat is to receive several dozen Pantsir-1 air defense missile systems.
The Moroccan naval forces (about 7 thousand sailors) are considered the best in North Africa. They include special anti-amphibious units trained to organize defense in the Gibraltar area and to combat surface and submarine ships in the coastal zone. It is noteworthy that the Moroccan Navy is carrying out maneuvers to protect sea communications together with the United States and other countries in NATO. The ship's composition includes a frigate, patrol, tank landing and training ships, patrol boats, missile boats, a search and rescue vessel and a hydrographic vessel. The three-year training of seaman officers is carried out at the Naval Academy in Casablanca.
The elite KAM units, whose task is the personal protection of the monarch and his family, are considered to be the 15 thousandth gendarmerie and the 2 thousandth royal guard. The gendarmerie can be considered an "army in the army" because it includes mobile air groups, a boat division, a special-purpose regiment, two separate mobile squadrons, an "intervention" battalion and three helicopter squadrons.
The Royal Guard consists of a separate battalion, a cavalry squadron and a military band, and is primarily intended for ceremonial events.
Rabat-Jerusalem
