# First Moroccan F-16 Block 72 Flies Ahead of Deliveries

- Link: https://www.military.africa/2026/10/first-moroccan-f-16-block-72-flies-ahead-of-deliveries/
- Published: 2026-10-15T09:24:33+01:00
- Author: Ekene Lionel

Lockheed Martin has announced that the first F-16 Block 72 Fighting Falcon for the
Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) has made its maiden flight, bringing the programme
closer to first delivery. The company [announced the flight on 6 October](https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2026-10-06-Lockheed-Martin-Announces-First-Flight-of-Moroccos-First-F-16-Block-72)
and called it a key milestone as the aircraft works through flight testing. The 
jet is a two-seat F-16D built at Lockheed’s Greenville plant in South Carolina, 
through Lockheed’s announcement.

“This first flight reflects meaningful progress on Morocco’s F-16 Block 72 programme
and is a critical step in strengthening Morocco’s future airpower,” said Mike Shoemaker,
vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Integrated Fighter Group.
He added that the company expects the F-16 to keep supporting Morocco’s sovereignty
and regional stability for decades. “The F‑16 remains a vital component of today’s
and future air defense, and we’re proud of the role it will continue to play in 
supporting Morocco’s sovereignty and contributing to regional stability for decades
to come.”

## The Order Behind the Flight

The aircraft comes from a package the US State Department approved in March 2019,
covering 25 new F-16C/D Block 72 fighters for an estimated $3.787 billion. [Military Africa reported the request at the time](https://www.military.africa/2019/04/royal-moroccan-air-force-rmaf-to-procure-more-f-16s-upgrade-its-existing-fleet/).
It included 29 Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engines (four of them spares) and 26 
APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, one of them a spare. The
weapons package covered 40 AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (
AMRAAM), 50 Paveway II laser-guided bombs and 60 GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs, 
alongside Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems. The jets are meant to replace the
Mirage F1s Morocco received in the 1970s and the Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIs it received
in the 1980s. Lockheed expects to finish production of Morocco’s aircraft by December
2026.

Lockheed describes the Block 72 as the newest and most advanced Fighting Falcon 
variant, with modernised avionics, advanced sensors, improved mission systems and
better safety and reliability features. That is the manufacturer’s characterisation.
The practical gain for Morocco is a fighter built around an AESA radar and a full
beyond-visual-range missile loadout, which matters because the RMAF’s older F-5s
and Mirage F1s lack both.

Morocco appears to be the only African country among the customers named for the
Block 70/72 standard, as far as Military Africa’s reporting shows, although, Egypt
which operates one of the largest F-16 fleets in the world, but its aircraft are
older blocks, has [requested](https://www.military.africa/2026/09/egypt-secretly-requests-new-f-16-viper-block-70-fighters-to-replace-aging-airframes/)
new F-16 Viper Block 70 to replace aging airframes.

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## The Existing Fleet

The new jets will join an [F-16 force that already exists](https://www.military.africa/2024/12/royal-moroccan-f-16s-conduct-interoperability-exercise-with-usaf-b-52h-stratofortress/).
The RMAF flies 23 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft delivered between 2011 and 2012, 
after losing one over Yemen during operations with the Saudi-led coalition. In 2019
the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency approved upgrading those aircraft to 
the F-16V Block 70/72 standard for $985.2 million. The material reviewed does not
say whether that upgrade has started.

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The current[ fleet carries ](https://www.military.africa/2019/09/morocco-requests-sale-of-f-16s-armament-tow-missiles-paveway-ii-jdam-from-the-us/)
Lockheed Martin Sniper targeting pods, Goodrich DB-110 airborne reconnaissance pods
and Raytheon’s Advanced Countermeasures Electronic System (ACES). Its armament includes
AIM-9X Block II Sidewinders, AGM-65D Maverick missiles and Enhanced Paveway II bomb
kits. Morocco also ordered Harpoon anti-ship missiles for the type several years
ago, and it reportedly asked in 2025 to buy $175 million worth of AMRAAMs and GBU-
39B bombs. According to Army Recognition, an August 2026 US contract worth up to
$42.1 million covers two Block 72 full-mission trainers for Morocco, which would
put part of the training pipeline in place.

## A Fifty-Year Relationship

Lockheed says its partnership with Morocco began with the first C-130H delivery 
in 1974 and now spans more than 50 years. The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces fly F-
16s, C-130s, advanced radar systems and Black Hawks, and are due to receive HIMARS
rocket launchers.

The company also points to local industry work. Maintenance Aero Maroc, a joint 
venture Lockheed set up in 2022 with Eaton-Souriau Tangiers, supports F-16 and C-
130H fleets, and [DefenceWeb reported](https://defenceweb.co.za/aerospace/aerospace-aerospace/morocco-pushing-military-aviation-overhaul-amid-algerian-arms-race/)
that Morocco is building an overhaul facility at Benslimane of more than 8,000 square
metres. It is designed for heavy maintenance and modernisation of C-130 Hercules
aircraft, with plans to expand to platforms including the F-16, in line with Morocco’s
ambition to become a regional hub for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (
MRO).

Benslimane is becoming a defence industrial cluster. [BlueBird Aero Systems opened its SpyX loitering munition production site](https://www.military.africa/2025/11/morocco-begins-local-production-of-israeli-spyx-loitering-munitions/)
in the same area, and [Military Africa reported this month](https://www.military.africa/2026/10/moroccos-aerodrive-wins-first-domestic-loitering-munition-deal/)
that regional reporting places Aerodrive Engineering Services’ planned loitering
munition production there too.

## Spending and the Algerian Factor

The F-16 order sits inside a much larger spending rise. Morocco’s 2026 finance law
allocates MAD 157.17 billion to defence, a rise of about 17.7 percent on 2025’s 
MAD 133.45 billion. That is roughly $15.3 billion by DefenceWeb’s conversion and
$15.7 billion by [Morocco World News](https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2025/10/264366/morocco-increases-defense-budget-to-15-7-billion-for-2026/),
depending on the exchange rate. It remains below the $24.6 billion that [Algeria has earmarked](https://en.yabiladi.com/articles/details/179227/morocco-boosts-defense-budget-over.html)
for its armed forces in 2026. DefenceWeb describes Morocco as in a kind of cold 
war with Algeria over decades-old disputes, most notably Western Sahara, and as 
modernising its air force to counter Algiers’ arsenal.

Air defence has been built up in layers. The long-range tier is reported to include
the HQ-9B, Barak 8 and Patriot PAC-3 systems, the mid-range tier the SPYDER, VL 
MICA and Sky Dragon 50, and the short-range tier Stinger and Mistral missiles, supported
by radars including French-made Ground Master 400s. Military Africa has covered 
the [Patriot approval](https://www.military.africa/2021/01/patriot-air-defense-systems-and-g550-aircraft-for-morocco/)
and [satellite imagery of the Barak MX deployment](https://www.military.africa/2026/01/morocco-enhances-integrated-air-defence-with-israeli-barak-mx/),
the latter a $500 million Israel Aerospace Industries contract signed in February
2022.

The F-16 purchase followed France’s lengthy effort to sell Rafale fighters to Rabat,
which ended in 2025, leaving Washington as Morocco’s primary supplier of fast jets.
The decision is consistent with a broader trend: Morocco has spent recent years 
diversifying its military suppliers rather than relying on a single country. As 
DefenceWeb has reported, the country’s air defense network draws on equipment from
China, France, Israel and the United States. This includes HQ-9B, Barak 8 and Patriot
PAC-3 long-range systems; SPYDER, MICA VL and Sky Dragon 50 systems for the mid-
range tier; and Stinger and Mistral man-portable missiles for point defense, supported
by French Ground Master 400 radars.

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The air arm is also growing beyond fighters. Morocco has four Gulfstream G550 aircraft
in an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance configuration, along with Israeli
Heron or Hermes 900, Chinese Wing Loong-2 and Turkish Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci drones.
On the helicopter side, [the first AH-64E Apaches arrived in March 2025](https://www.military.africa/2025/03/morocco-receives-boeing-ah-64e-apache-attack-helicopters/),
and [a second batch of six on 7 April 2026](https://www.military.africa/2026/04/moroccan-receives-second-batch-of-boeing-ah-64e-apache-guardian-attack-helicopters/)
brought the inventory to 12. Military Africa has also recorded a further seven delivered
on 8 May 2026. Morocco ordered ten Airbus H225M helicopters, [reported in November 2025](https://www.military.africa/2025/11/morocco-acquires-airbus-h225m-caracal-helicopters-to-replace-sa330-pumas/)
and [finalised in September 2026](https://www.military.africa/2026/09/morocco-finalizes-deal-for-airbus-h225m-caracal-helicopters/),
to replace its Pumas.

## Building an Industry Around the Purchases

Rabat wants the money to leave something behind. In 2024 Morocco signed an aerospace
cooperation agreement with Embraer, which is positioning its C-390 Millennium for
the RMAF’s future tactical airlift requirement, with training, maintenance and logistics
support included and some media reporting a possibility of partial assembly. [Military Africa covered the memorandum](https://www.military.africa/2024/11/morocco-embraer-signs-mou-on-aerospace/).
A year later Baykar announced a maintenance, repair and overhaul hub in Morocco 
after [reports of a drone manufacturing facility](https://www.military.africa/2025/01/baykar-to-establish-drone-manufacturing-facility-in-morocco/).
The type to be maintained was not named, though the TB2 is the likeliest candidate
and the Akinci may follow, and recruitment opened in early 2026 for technicians 
and test pilots.

On the home-grown side, Aerodrive Engineering Services announced in 2024 that the
Atlas Istar, billed as Morocco’s first homegrown military drone, had completed its
maiden flight, as [Military Africa reported](https://www.military.africa/2025/04/morocco-begins-indigenous-aerodrive-atlas-uav-production/).
The programme follows a defence strategy from King Mohammed VI that includes manufacturing
drones and maintaining military aircraft, with the stated aim of cutting import 
dependence. India’s Tata has opened a plant in Morocco for WhAP 8×8 armoured personnel
carriers, with plans for as many as 150 vehicles. Rabat is also setting up industrial
zones dedicated to defence, and its 2025 budget exempts defence firms from taxes.
Any new acquisition will almost certainly come with offsets and technology transfer
clauses.

The newly flown F-16D will now enter a flight-test program to validate its systems
before any aircraft is delivered to Morocco. After years of waiting since the 2019
sale approval, Morocco now has a tangible aircraft progressing through the delivery
pipeline, with production of the remaining aircraft continuing toward the expected
end-of-2026 target.

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