Moroccan forces boost military arsenal with the addition of a Chinese missile system

The Chinese missile system (HJ-9A), an anti-tank and armoured vehicle, also known as “RED ARROW 9A,” was added to the Royal Armed Forces’ ground defense system in its endeavor to modernize its military equipment.

The weapon was showcased in a training exercise at the celebrations for the 67th anniversary of the founding of the Moroccan army.

The Defense Post website, which specializes in armament news, reported that this system, owned by Morocco, was specially designed to hit fixed and moving targets, such as armored vehicles and tanks. Its missiles have a range of more than 6 kilometers, and it can also be installed on a vehicle or a tripod.

The same source stated that the Chinese missile system was designed to engage armored vehicles and fortified structures, and was first introduced in the Chinese army in 2005.

Its main combat characteristic lies in its ability to penetrate reactive armor at a depth of 1.2 meters through a tandem warhead, and a radar that uses “millimeter waves” to ensure high targeting accuracy.

Similar to this Chinese system, the Moroccan army possesses a group of other advanced missile systems, such as the American TOW system, Ukrainian-made SKIF missiles, in addition to the Russian KORNET missiles, and the Israeli SPRIK system, at a time when the Algerian army is finding great difficulties in obtaining weapons, as a result. His complete dependence on the Russian supplier, whose war with Ukraine made him default on his military obligations to Algeria.

Moroccan strategy

Mohamed Tayar, a security and military expert, said that “Morocco is moving steadily in the strategy it has adopted to expand and diversify its military partners,” adding that “Rabat is not satisfied with only one source to obtain the latest weapons, but rather relies on multiple suppliers, such as the United States, France, Israel, and most recently, China.a

The same military expert confirmed, in a statement to the Hespress electronic newspaper, that “the Moroccan army has already obtained a number of Chinese-made drones,” stressing that “the acquisition of the new Chinese missile system into the national defense system reflects the extent of Rabat’s keenness to keep abreast of the latest developments in the military technology field.”

“At a time when Morocco’s strategy to modernize its military arsenal has succeeded, Algeria finds it very difficult to acquire new weapons for its army, as a result of its complete dependence on Moscow and the decrease in Russian arms supply to Algeria due to its prioritizing the battle fronts in the Ukraine war,” Tayar stated.

He added, “The Algerian army’s situation has prompted the Algerian leaders to search for new partners, such as France, Italy and Brazil.”

Local industry

Muhammad Agdid, an expert in security affairs, stated that “the Royal Armed Forces now possess the latest trends in land, air and sea weapons, such as the advanced F-16s, Apache helicopters and Abrams tanks, in addition to the frigate that Morocco recently acquired from its Spanish partner.

The same expert added, in a statement to Hespress, that “in addition to broadening the range of its military partners, Rabat has taken another step in its military strategy and ventured into the industry of local weapon manufacturing, as well as the supply of security and military technology.”

In the same context, the security expert stated that “the recent Abraham Accords included an agreement for technological cooperation in the military field between Rabat and Washington for a period of ten years, which means that Morocco is establishing the foundations for the local arms industry and reducing dependence on external suppliers.”

Finally, Agdid concluded that “the Kingdom has started establishing factories in a number of regions in order to launch into the field of advanced military industry, adding to the experience that it started years ago in the field of manufacturing rifles and light weapons.”