AFRICA: F-16s for Morocco

North African Nation to Get 24 Jets

Morocco took delivery of the first four of 24 F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighters this month.

Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz journeyed to Ben Guerir Air Base in Marrakech, Morocco August 4 to present the first Lockheed Martin F-16s to the North African kingdom. The remaining 20 aircraft are expected to be delivered by 2013, according to the Air Force.

The new Block 52 (current production version) F-16C aircraft are part of a modernization of the Royal Moroccan Air Force. Morocco is the 25^th nation to receive the F-16 multirole fighter, including Belgium, Denmark, Israel, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Portugal and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The U.S. has a long standing friendly relationship with Morocco, which has coastlines on both the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Morocco was the first nation to recognize the flegling United States during the Revolutionary War.

Map courtesy of CIA World Factbook