This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Hibapress
Units of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) and American forces participated, on Friday in Cap Draâ (north of Tan-Tan), in large aerial and land military maneuvers, marking the closure of the combined Morocco-American exercise “African Lion 2025”.
This exercise is part of the implementation of the high instructions of King Mohammed VI, supreme chief and general chief of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR).
During these maneuvers, which took place in the presence of the General of the Army, Mohammed Berrid, Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces and commanding the southern zone, and General Michael Langley, commanding of the United States command for Africa (US Africom), the land units, supported by air units, with F-16 aircraft of the Royal Forces Air (FRA), A fictitious enemy.
Similarly, special forces units have destroyed an enemy radar station intended for drone detection, while American Himars rocket launcher has carried out long-range fire on the simulated enemy.
Subsequently, M109 FAR artillery units carried out shots for the initial destruction of the enemy based on the front line to allow military engineering units to remove mines and open corridors, as part of assault and counterattack operations using the abrams tanks, accompanied by embedded infantry units on board heavy vehicles and Light, the objective being to overcome the rest of the simulated enemy.
During this operation, a combined logistical support was carried out through the evacuation of wounded from the battlefield using a puma type helicopter, in addition to the evacuation and towing of vehicles for their rehabilitation.
Speaking at a press conference, General Langley indicated that the two parties showed, at the end of this combined exercise between the FAR and the American army, skills in combat, air-to-ground integration, fire and maneuver, believing that in the favor of intense coordination and planning, this 21st edition of the “African Lion” exercise, which took place in the presence of more than 52 countries, Deepen our partnership with the FAR ”.
The global operational and strategic environment is evolving from year to year, especially in terms of technology, and threats are constantly developing and emerging throughout the Sahel region, leading to an exacerbation of instability, he warned, adding that an exercise like that of “African Lion” “will allow to plan and work with our African partners in sub-Saharan Africa on the way of facing it”.
For his part, Brigadier General Mohamed El Kaissi, assistant commander of the joint forces for the financial year, thanked the kingdom’s partners within Africom and the Southern Europe’s operational force of the American armed forces in Africa (SETAF-AF) for their commitment, stressing that the “close cooperation with our partners resulted, as in the previous editions, in the previous editions, ‘African Lion’, planned and conducted in accordance with the high instructions of His Majesty the King, Supreme Chief and Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces ”.
As for the business manager at the United States Embassy in Morocco, Aimee Cutrona, she said that “Morocco is one of our nearest and older allies”. “Our relationship goes back to the United States Foundation,” she said, adding that today, on the occasion of the closure of “African Lion”, “we measure the depth and solidity of this relationship”.
In a declaration to the map on the sidelines of the closing of these maneuvers, Lieutenant-Colonel Younes Benayad, chief operations of the financial year, said that the field operations of this exercise constituted a precious opportunity to consolidate the achievements of the Royal Armed Forces and their American counterparts after twenty years of bilateral cooperation.
For the first time, he added, operations carried out by the joint special forces and the rapid liaison forces of the motorized infantry brigade were integrated into scenarios simulating conventional operations.
As for Lieutenant-Colonel Abdesslam Zennane, head of the logistics cell, he noted that the 21st edition of the “African Lion” exercise included joint training with the American army around two main logistics axes, namely the rapid medical evacuation of the wounded with the aid of land vehicles and aerial means, and the evacuation and the towing of vehicles Rehabilitation.
The emphasis was put, during joint training, on the simulation operation in various combat environments, he said.
Commander Jawad Safou, of the conduct unit, pointed out that his participation in this 21st edition of the “African Lion” exercise constitutes a qualitative and important added value in his military career, in particular in his operational component, specifying that this exercise, marked by the implementation of various scenarios, was the occasion for active participation in the joint planning of all maneuvers on the ground.
The Combined Morocco-American exercise “African Lion 2025”, which started on May 12 at the level of the South Zone General Staff in Agadir, took place in several regions of the kingdom, namely Cap Draâ in Tan-Tan, Agadir, Tiznit, Kenitra, Ben Guerir and Tifnit. More than 10,000 elements of the armed forces in several countries participated, alongside the Royal Armed Forces and their American counterparts, in addition to NATO.
The activities of this 21st edition of the “African Lion 2025” exercise included training in various operational fields, planning exercises for the benefit of participating executives, and NRBC decontamination (nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical), as well as joint maneuvers.
This edition was also marked by activities parallel of a humanitarian and social nature, in particular the installation of a campaign medico-surgical military hospital at the level of the local authority of Anzi (province of Tiznit).
The African Lion 2025 exercise aims to strengthen military cooperation between Morocco and the United States, develop interoperability and strengthen intervention capacities in a multinational context, in order to promote security, peace and stability in the region.
