History
The Moroccan air force was formed on November 19, 1956 as the “Aviation Royale Chérifienne” (Sherifian Royal Aviation).
Its modern installations and bases were inherited from France (Meknes, Rabat {in tandem with the United States}, Marrakech), the United States (Rabat {in tandem with France}, Kenitra, Benguérir, Boulhault, Nouasser and Sidi Slimane) and Spain (Laayoune).
The first acquisitions of this newly formed air force were six Morane-Saulnier MS-500 Criquets, three Max Holste MH.1521 Broussard transport aircraft, two Beechcraft Twin Bonanzas, a de Havilland DH.114 Heron and a Bell 47G helicopter.
In 1961, it changed its name to "Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine" (Royal Moroccan Air Force), a designation used to the present day. In the same period, it obtained 12 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 fighters, two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI trainers and four Ilyushin Il-28 bombers from the Soviet Union (USSR). 24 Fouga Magister training aircraft were also received from France.
The political rift with the USSR pushed Morocco to seek a new ally in the United States, acquiring from the latter six Northrop F-5 combat aircraft (4 single-seat F-5A and 2 two-seat F-5B) and another 20 F-5A and four F-5B in 1966. Transport aircraft acquired at the time included 10 Douglas C-47 Skytrains, 18 Fairchild C-119Gs and six Lockheed C-130 Hercules. The helicopter fleet was composed of 24 Augusta-Bell AB205As, and 12 North American T-6 Texans were used for pilot training.
The next modernization of the Moroccan Air Force took place just before the Sahara conflict, with the acquisition of Mirage F-1CH attack aircraft, Beech T-34C Mentor training aircraft, Aerospatiale Puma helicopters, and new Hercules transport aircraft to substitute the older units. Modernization of Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter with improved technology and the purchase of 24 Alpha Jet E would later be bought by the RMAF, another modernization of the fleet of Dassault Mirage F1 was achieved in 1996 and 1997.
During the 90’s there were plans for purchasing Mirage 2000 or F-16 fighter aircraft, however due to unavailable funding they were not realized. Currently, and possibly as a result of the Algerian negotiations with Russia to purchase MiG-29 and SU-30MKA attack aircraft, the Royal Moroccan Air Force started to modernize its ageing fleet.
Read more about this topic: Royal Moroccan Air Force
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