Combat drones for Morocco: air force receives first Bayraktar Akinci from Baykar

Morocco’s fleet of combat drones is growing: according to a Moroccan military forum, the country’s air force has received the first delivery of the Bayraktar Akinci, a reconnaissance and combat drone from the Turkish manufacturer Baykar. According to the report, the contract was signed back in 2023.

No larger drone has yet been built in Turkey. The Akinci has a wingspan of 20 metres, a length of 12.2 metres and a height of 4.1 metres; its maximum take-off weight is 6,000 kilograms. Powered by two turboprop engines, it reaches a cruising speed of 280 km/h and can operate for up to 25 hours at altitudes of 12,000 to 13,000 metres.

Six hardpoints allow a wide range of weapons, including air-to-air missiles, guided bombs, guided missiles and cruise missiles. Particularly noteworthy: with the Akinci, Morocco’s armed forces can deploy Roketsan’s SOM stand-off cruise missile as well as the Turkish IHA-230 supersonic guided missile.

The SOM has already completed successful tests at a range of 300 kilometres. According to the plans of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, it is to form the basis for a further developed variant whose range could potentially reach up to 3,000 kilometres.

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Chinese TB-001 for Morocco as well

Almost simultaneously, it became known that Morocco’s air force will also procure the Tengden TB-001 Scorpion from China. Like the Bayraktar Akinci, it belongs to the class of high-altitude, long-endurance drones.

The TB-001 is powered by three turboprop engines. Its wingspan is around 20 metres, its length 10 metres and its height 3.3 metres. It can stay airborne for up to 40 hours, covering 6,000 to 8,000 kilometres at an altitude of 8,000 to 10,000 metres.

The drone carries 1,200 to 1,500 kilograms of weapons on twelve external stores stations. Up to 250 kilometres it is controlled by radio, beyond that via satellite communications – making virtually unlimited ranges possible.

Combat drones and more: Morocco’s fleet at a glance

Military Africa reported in April 2024 that Morocco built up a drone fleet totalling 233 aircraft between 1980 and 2024. These include the Israeli-made IAI Heron and Hermes 900 as well as at least 19 Bayraktar TB2 from Turkey. In 2023, operations of the Chinese Wing Loong 2 from the civilian airport in Laayoune were also observed.

In 2021, Morocco concluded a contract for the local production of 150 WanderB tactical drones, manufactured by the Israeli company BlueBird Aero Systems. The drone was presented to the Moroccan public in 2022. The US MQ-1A Predator and MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones are also mentioned time and again, but they have not yet been sighted.