Morocco Receives Third Batch of AH-64E Apaches, Taking Its Fleet to 19 of 24

Morocco has taken delivery of six more AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, bringing the Royal Moroccan Air Force to 19 of the 24 it ordered from the United States. The handover was marked on Monday 26 October 2026 at the First Royal Air Force Base in Salé, next to Rabat-Salé airport, the US Army’s Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) said. It is the third batch. Five aircraft are still to come.

What was delivered, and when

SETAF-AF commander Maj. Gen. Matthew W. Brown attended the ceremony with senior Royal Armed Forces (FAR) officers. A FAR statement, as reported by regional media, said the ceremony followed talks between Brown and Lt. Gen. Mohamed Berrid, FAR Inspector General and Southern Zone commander, held, in the FAR’s words, on the instructions of King Mohammed VI. SETAF-AF put the foreign military sales case at “nearly $1.3 billion” (SETAF-AF release).

The fleet has arrived in three stages:

Delivery is not the same as full operational capability. Neither the FAR nor SETAF-AF said how many of the 19 aircraft are combat-ready or how many crews have been trained. Earlier Moroccan reporting placed the Apache units at the 7th Air Base in Khouribga; that basing has not been restated for the new batch.

The deal behind the numbers

In November 2019 the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible sale of up to 36 AH-64Es to Morocco, 24 firm and 12 optional, with Hellfire and Stinger missiles, sensors, spares and training, at an estimated $4.25 billion (Federal Register, Transmittal 19-63). A DSCA notification is a ceiling, not a contract. Rabat signed for the 24 firm aircraft in 2020, and the 12-aircraft option has not been publicly exercised. Moroccan media have usually put the contract at about $1.5 billion. The $1.3 billion now cited by the US Army is the official figure for the FMS case and is the one used here.

Why the AH-64E matters for Morocco

The AH-64E Guardian, built by Boeing, is the latest production Apache. Compared with earlier versions it has more powerful engines, an upgraded transmission, composite rotor blades and better digital networking, and the crew can control drones from the cockpit. The 2019 package included AGM-114 Hellfire anti-armour missiles and Stinger air-to-air missiles.

Morocco is one of two African countries that fly the Apache and the only one with the E model, according to SETAF-AF. The other operator is Egypt, which flies the older AH-64D (see Egypt’s biggest defence deals). In Morocco the aircraft adds a dedicated attack and armed reconnaissance capability to a force that has been buying heavily in the air and air defence domains: Turkish and Israeli drones, precision munitions from the UAE’s EDGE, and SPYDER air defence (EDGE’s deal to arm Morocco’s drone fleet, what Morocco buys from Türkiye, why Morocco bought SPYDER). The money is there: the 2027 draft budget raises the ceiling for military equipment commitments to MAD 190.5 billion (our report).

Elsewhere on the continent, Nigeria is building up a US attack-helicopter fleet with the AH-1Z Viper, and the Mi-24/35 family still dominates in most air forces (Nigeria’s AH-1Z programme, Rooivalk vs Mi-24/Mi-35, T129 ATAK operators in Africa).

Training with US forces, and the grounding question

Brown said US and Moroccan pilots and ground forces will train together on the Apache in future editions of African Lion, the largest US-led exercise in Africa. “Integrating these platforms into (African Lion) will directly increase our combined readiness,” he said, according to Stars and Stripes. SETAF-AF linked the aircraft to the 2026–2036 US–Morocco Defense Cooperation Roadmap, signed at the Pentagon in April.

The delivery comes weeks after the US Army ordered some 400 of its own AH-64Es grounded over transmission concerns, Stars and Stripes reported, the second Apache stand-down in two months. Asked whether Morocco’s helicopters had been inspected or modified for the problem, SETAF-AF referred questions to the DSCA, which had not replied by the paper’s deadline. No Moroccan restriction on Apache flying has been reported.

Sources

• US Army SETAF-AF, “US, Morocco mark delivery of Apache helicopters to Royal Moroccan Air Force”, 26 October 2026.
• Stars and Stripes, “Morocco adds 6 Apache gunships amid US Army grounding of aircraft”, 28 October 2026.
• Le360, “Morocco receives six more Apache AH-64E helicopters, bringing fleet to 19”, 28 October 2026.
• Voice of Emirates, “Morocco receives the third batch of American AH-64E Apache helicopters” (summarising the FAR statement), 28 October 2026.
• Kafapress / MAP, FAR General Staff statement on the second Apache batch (Arabic), 8 May 2026.
• Federal Register, Arms Sales Notification, Transmittal 19-63 (Morocco AH-64E), 27 December 2019.