Morocco’s ongoing negotiations with the United States for the acquisition of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II represent a potential turning point in North African military aviation, signaling Rabat’s ambition to join the global cohort of fifth-generation airpower operators. Analysts estimate the potential acquisition package at between US$17 billion and US$18 billion (approximately RM80–85 billion) over the aircraft’s projected life cycle, highlighting the strategic and fiscal commitment Morocco is willing to undertake to leapfrog legacy platforms.
The pursuit of the F-35 carries far-reaching implications for regional security dynamics. Should Morocco succeed, it would become the first African nation and only the second in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region after Israel to operate a fifth-generation stealth fighter. This move is poised to reshape regional perceptions of deterrence credibility, technological parity, and alliance alignment amid a contested security environment spanning the Sahel, the Atlantic approaches, and the Western Mediterranean.
Morocco’s initiative marks a shift from incremental modernization toward transformational capability acquisition. The Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) aims to close enduring gaps in survivability, deep-strike reach, electronic warfare dominance, and sensor-fusion capabilities—deficiencies that cannot be addressed by upgraded fourth-generation platforms alone. Modernized F-16s or Mirage 2000s, even with advanced avionics, cannot replicate the strategic advantages offered by a platform designed from inception for stealth, sensor integration, and network-centric operations.
The strategic rationale for Morocco’s F-35 pursuit has been indirectly reinforced by U.S. policymakers. In a November 2025 engagement with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then-U.S. President Donald Trump commented, “I know they’d like you to get planes of reduced calibre, but as far as I’m concerned, I think they are both at a level where they should get top of the line.” Defense analysts interpreted this statement as indicative of Washington’s evolving flexibility on fifth-generation exports to trusted partners, signaling a potential policy window for Morocco.
Morocco’s interest in the F-35 should therefore be viewed as a calculated strategic posture rather than a routine procurement. The acquisition reflects a desire to enhance airpower modernisation, strengthen alliance politics, reinforce deterrence in Western Sahara, and anchor Morocco more firmly within U.S.-led security architectures amid intensifying great-power competition across Africa.
The proposed program underscores Morocco’s confidence in its long-term fiscal and operational sustainability. Beyond the initial procurement cost, the F-35 demands decades of sustained investment in software upgrades, classified infrastructure, training cycles, and secure maintenance systems. The willingness to shoulder these responsibilities reflects disciplined defence planning and a commitment to enduring capability rather than short-term capability boosts.
Strategically, the F-35 would transform Morocco’s air defense doctrine from platform-centric operations to effects-based operations. Its stealth, networked sensors, and persistent ISR capabilities would enable Rabat to influence adversary behavior through battlespace awareness, precision strikes, and pre-emptive control rather than reactive responses. The aircraft’s operational flexibility would also allow Morocco to serve as a regional stabilizer in alignment with U.S. strategic objectives, extending influence without necessitating direct American military presence.
The F-35’s potential integration would also catalyze doctrinal and organizational reforms within the RMAF. Command-and-control structures, joint-force integration, data fusion, and decision-making processes would need to adapt to a high-speed, networked operational environment, elevating Morocco’s military effectiveness beyond the raw size of its fleet. In essence, the F-35 would not merely augment Morocco’s airpower but redefine its strategic identity as a technologically sophisticated, alliance-integrated actor in North Africa.
The foundation for Morocco’s F-35 aspirations lies in its longstanding bilateral defense relationship with the United States. Designated a Major Non-NATO Ally in 2004, Rabat has enjoyed preferential access to advanced U.S. military technology, facilitating high-value arms transfers that have progressively reshaped the RMAF’s operational profile. This relationship gained additional momentum following the 2020 Abraham Accords, which normalized Morocco’s relations with Israel in exchange for U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. This diplomatic realignment removed barriers to high-end technology transfer and enhanced Rabat’s strategic value within Washington’s Middle East and Africa calculus.
Since 2020, trilateral security convergence with Israel and the United States has expanded through intelligence sharing, joint training, and interoperability initiatives. Notably, the November 2021 meeting between Moroccan Defence Minister Abdellatif Loudiyi and Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz established formal frameworks for military cooperation that directly support fifth-generation operational concepts. By 2025, the U.S.–Morocco Defense Cooperation Roadmap (2020–2030) further codified this partnership, encompassing counter-terrorism, maritime security, and port security initiatives. Within this framework, the F-35 emerges as a strategic instrument to consolidate Morocco’s transformation into a high-trust security partner interoperable with U.S., Israeli, and European forces.
At the technical level, the F-35’s capabilities would fundamentally alter Morocco’s air combat dynamics. Its low-observable design, AN/APG-81 AESA radar, Distributed Aperture System, and advanced electronic support measures provide situational awareness and targeting dominance in contested environments. Powered by the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, generating roughly 191 kilonewtons of thrust, the F-35A offers multi-role precision strike, deep penetration, and ISR capabilities across distances exceeding 1,200 kilometers, directly supporting territorial defense and expeditionary missions.
RMAF planners anticipate a fleet of up to 32 F-35A aircraft, complemented by simulators, secure maintenance infrastructure, encrypted data systems, and advanced munitions integration, collectively driving the program’s lifecycle cost toward US$18 billion. Beyond aircraft numbers, the investment represents a qualitative shift in doctrine toward information-dominant warfare, emphasizing network integration and sensor fusion as force multipliers.
Morocco’s post-2020 defense normalization with Israel plays a critical role in shaping regional acceptance of this acquisition. Israel’s assessment framework for F-35 sales prioritizes intent and alignment over platform parity, and Morocco is considered a defensive, status-quo actor focused on territorial deterrence, Western Sahara stability, and Sahel security rather than power projection against Israel. Moreover, Israel retains structural superiority through its uniquely modified F-35I “Adir,” which incorporates sovereign avionics, electronic warfare suites, mission software, and classified subsystems inaccessible to other operators. Geographic separation and alignment with U.S. and Israeli strategic interests further mitigate concerns, allowing Morocco to modernize without challenging Israel’s qualitative edge.
The prospective F-35 acquisition also has implications for Algeria, whose air force modernization relies on Russian platforms such as the Su-30MKA, Su-34, and potential Su-57 purchases. While Algeria emphasizes numerical mass and kinetic payload, Morocco’s stealth-enabled F-35 capability would provide an asymmetrical advantage through first-look engagement, deep ISR, and precision strike, complicating any adversary’s air defense planning. Within the context of Western Sahara, such capabilities would strengthen deterrence by imposing high operational costs for potential aggression.
Morocco’s defense budget trajectory supports this high-end acquisition. The national defense budget rose from approximately 124 billion dirhams (US$12.4 billion) in 2024 to 133 billion dirhams (US$13.3 billion) in 2025, with further increases anticipated for high-end acquisitions. Investments in AH-64E Apache helicopters, M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks, and MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones are being integrated into a multi-domain architecture, with the F-35 serving as a critical airborne command node for synchronized land, maritime, and air operations.
Beyond military capability, the pursuit of the F-35 sends a strong geopolitical signal. By aligning its most sensitive airpower capability with U.S. systems, Morocco strengthens interoperability, intelligence sharing, and political alignment, countering the proliferation of Russian and Chinese defense technologies in Africa. It positions Morocco as a reference point for African modernization, potentially influencing procurement patterns as nations reassess the trade-offs between capability, cost, and alliance integration.
While congressional approval and long-term sustainment costs remain challenges, Morocco’s calculated pursuit of the F-35 demonstrates a commitment to enduring deterrence credibility, strategic leverage, and the transformation of its airpower into a technologically sophisticated, alliance-integrated force capable of shaping North African security outcomes for decades to come.
