According to the government decree, published in the Official Gazette, the company Meads, affiliated to the Deposit and Management Fund, has been authorised to increase its stake in the capital of the company Maintenance AeroMaroc from 10 % to 34 %. The authorisation was issued after consultation with the National Agency for the Strategic Management of State Contributions, on the proposal of the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah.

A Commitment to National Security and Technology

This government decision aims to enable the company to establish a maintenance and repair centre, in addition to servicing Royal Air Force aircraft and improving Morocco's capabilities in this sector, contributing to supporting national security and developing the country's industrial and technological capabilities.

In addition, this initiative to open the new aircraft maintenance centre will strengthen Morocco's independence in the military aviation sector by reducing its dependence in terms of maintenance.

With projects such as this, Morocco aims to position itself as a leading centre in the aviation and defence sector, taking advantage of the potential of the industries established in Tangier and Casablanca. The idea is to strengthen its technological sovereignty and invest in defence industries, both in infrastructure and in the development of facilities for the manufacture and assembly of modern aircraft.

The Minister in charge of the Department of National Defence, Abdellatif Loudiyi, explained that ‘the Kingdom of Morocco has worked, within the framework of the challenge facing the aviation industry sector, which is to diversify the areas of development and move from civilian to defence industries, to strengthen its legal arsenal with regard to the military industry, in addition to generalising the benefit of the activities of this industry based on a set of measures that concern support for investments of a strategic nature in accordance with the framework law as an investment charter’.

Other Investments

In addition to the establishment of a new aircraft maintenance centre, the Moroccan government has focused over the past three years on modernising its fighter fleet, in collaboration with its international partners.

It has refurbished the Sidi Slimani and Ben Guerir air bases to accommodate the new squadron of F16 Block 70/72 fighters recently acquired from the US company Lockheed Martin.

It is also preparing to support the establishment of a military drone factory in cooperation with Baykar, in line with the expansion of the manufacturing of weapons systems and defence electronics. In addition, a new Moroccan company, Atlas Defence, which specialises in the design, manufacture, development and maintenance of drones and technological systems for the defence industry, has been launched.

Along the same lines is the agreement with ELB Services LLC, a company specialised in supporting F16 fighters in reconnaissance and mission planning systems support for the Royal Moroccan Air Force, for a period of ten years.

Defence Budget

The Moroccan national defence budget for the support of this strategic industry has seen qualitative leaps in the last five years. This item has been reinforced in the estimated budget for 2025, which amounts to some 133 billion dirhams. A budget that will be dedicated to the acquisition and repair of military equipment and support for the development of the defence industry. Compared to last year, the defence budget allocation increased by 9 billion dirhams.

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