Satellite images from May showed Algeria testing Chinese Wing Loong II unmanned aircraft, just months before Morocco began negotiated the purchase of the Chinese unmanned aerial vehicle, according to reports from Defence news outlets.
The footage confirmed Algeria’s reception of its first batch of the armed drones. The devices were tested in the wilaya of Djelfa, the headquarters of the first military region.
Algeria had ordered 24 Wing Loong II drones from China in September 2021, but the deliveries have been delayed. The drones were originally scheduled to be delivered between 2021 and the end of 2022.
The Wing Loong II can conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; electronic warfare; search-and-rescue; strike; peacekeeping; and border patrol missions.
In July 2022, Morocco began negotiating with China to purchase Wing Loong II drones as replacements for their Wing Loong I models.
Recently, members of the Moroccan Air Force completed a seven-month training program in China to familiarize themselves with these new drones.
This training followed Morocco’s acquisition of the Wing Loong II, after having received four Wing Loong I drones as a gift from the United Arab Emirates.
The Wing Loong II, features six hard points, compared to two on the Wing Loong, with four that can carry double payloads, making it able to carry up to 10 air-to-ground bombs and missiles.
The Moroccan bill for multi-million dollar weapons purchases over the last decade is massive with billions of dollars in frigates, modernized F-16 fighters, Abrams armored vehicles, and Predator drones.
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