In order to plug capability gaps Moroccan governments has invested in procuring military trucks to revamp it’s logistics operations.
The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces’s (RMAF) logistics capabilities can now better support any of its expeditionary operations, as new supply trucks have been integrated.
The RMAF is currently receiving several orders for new trucks, to bring replace old models and reinforce the logistics units of the Moroccan Army.
Royal Moroccan Army has received 92 high-mobility Tata LPTA 2445 6×6 multi-axle trucks, and the lighter LPTA-715 4×4 truck. The TATA trucks were shipped from Gujarat’s pipavav port in late December last year.
The LPTA 2445 6×6 high mobility all-terrain all-wheel drive vehicle has a militarised cab that is suitable for up-armoring, and can be configured for a variety of applications, including a common gun tower, a multi-barrel rocket launcher, a missile firing unit, a missile service vehicle, a field service vehicle, a short range surface-to-air missile, a quick reaction surface-to-air missile, a low level quick reaction missile, and a medium recovery vehicle.
Although, India is not among Morocco’s main suppliers, however, this new export drive is beneficial for the Kingdom as it may include local production.
The trucks are expected to be used for the loading-unloading and transportation of ammunition pallets, spares and other operational equipment.
The truck orders are diversified,coming from several suppliers such as Arquus, Tata Motors, MAN, Ivecco, and Astra.
Morocco is also taking delivery of at least 500 Turkish-assembled Mercedes Unimog trucks. Photos taken recently in Casablanca shows the Unimog trucks being offloaded from the port.
The RMAF already has previous versions of Mercedes Benz Unimog U4000, 1017 trucks in its inventory.
Three years ago, the logistical component of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces received a significant further boost as French Arquus supplied 300 units of its Véhicule de Liaison de Reconnaissance et d’Appui / Liaison, Reconnaissance and Support Vehicle (VLRA 2) 4×4 light tactical vehicles to Morocco.
The 300 VLRA-2 4×4 light tactical military vehicles will strengthen the firepower and mobility of Morocco’s special forces units. The acquisition follows an earlier deal which saw Arquus (formerly Renault Trucks Defence) delivering 36 Sherpa light scout armoured vehicles.
Besides acquiring military trucks, Morocco also needed to improve it’s troops driving proficiency, which necessitated better training. Thus, the Moroccan Defense Administration has procured six EF-Car Motion and eight EF-Trucks simulators from ECA GROUP.
The simulators will be used by Moroccan defence’s trainees and new recruits to learn how to drive as well as enable them receive their driving licences.
Morocco also bought twenty-five M88 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lifting Extraction System (HERCULES) vehicles from the United States in 2020 to help extract damaged and immobilized vehicles.
The M88 HERCULES armored recovery vehicles are equipped with machine guns, GPS navigation systems, SINGARS radios, and smoke grenades, at an estimated cost of $239.35m.
The 25 M88 Hercules will be in addition to the 55 M88A1s the US transferred to Morocco by the end of 2016.