Morocco’s 2027 Draft Budget Raises Military Equipment Commitment Ceiling to MAD 190.5 Billion
Morocco’s draft 2027 finance bill would allow the National Defence Administration to commit up to MAD 190.5 billion in 2027 against appropriations to be opened in 2028, for buying and repairing equipment for the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) and supporting the national defence industry. The ceiling, set in Article 36 of Finance Bill No. 60-26, is 21.2% higher than the MAD 157.17 billion authorised for 2026, according to Alyaoum24 and Morocco World News.
What Article 36 provides
Fouzi Lekjaa presented the bill to Parliament on Friday 23 October. Article 36 authorises the minister delegate to the Head of Government in charge of the National Defence Administration to make commitments in 2027 against 2028 appropriations. These commitments are made through a special Treasury account titled “Acquisition and repair of Royal Armed Forces equipment and support for the development of the defence industry”. The increase on 2026 is about MAD 33.3 billion.
The MAD 190.5 billion figure is a ceiling, not an annual defence budget or a list of contracts. It allows the administration to sign multi-year commitments for equipment, maintenance and industrial projects. Several Moroccan outlets have stressed that it may not be used in full (Médias24, Alyaoum24). The bill does not say which programmes the commitments would fund.
The annual defence budget
According to Médias24, the bill provides MAD 49.34 billion for defence personnel and MAD 8.38 billion for equipment and other expenditure. Investment credits total MAD 15.2 billion: MAD 7.2 billion in payment credits for 2027 and MAD 8 billion in commitment credits for 2028 and later years. The allocation to the special equipment account is MAD 11.49 billion for 2027. Médias24 puts planned 2027 defence disbursements at about MAD 76.41 billion. That is its own total of the operating budget, 2027 investment payments and the special-account allocation, not a figure stated in the bill.
A steady rise in the ceiling
Figures compiled by Le Brief from earlier finance laws show the ceiling at MAD 115.55 billion in 2022, MAD 119.77 billion in 2023, about MAD 124.8 billion in 2024 and MAD 133.45 billion in 2025, before the 17.8% rise to MAD 157.17 billion in 2026. The proposed 2027 increase would be the largest in that period. The bill still has to pass both chambers of Parliament.
Regional context and previous developments
Morocco buys from the United States, Israel and Türkiye at the same time; our analysis of how Morocco balances its suppliers looks at the export-control rules attached to each. Recent stories include press reports of talks on Israel’s David’s Sling missile shield, the US Army plan to evaluate counter-drone systems at Tan-Tan and our explainer on why Morocco bought SPYDER air defence. For an overview of the FAR’s equipment, see what Morocco’s military arsenal looks like in 2026.
Algeria, Morocco’s neighbour and rival, sets its own defence budget in its annual finance law. Direct comparisons are difficult because Morocco’s multi-year commitment ceiling and Algeria’s annual allocations measure different things.
