received<\/a> a second batch of seven Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters at Cap Draa near Tan-Tan on May 8, during the closing ceremony of African Lion 2026. The delivery follows a first lot of six received in March 2025. Both are part of a 24-unit, $4.25 billion order placed in 2020.<\/p>\nThe C295W represents a direct evolution of the CN-235, originally developed in the 1980s through a partnership between Spain\u2019s CASA \u2013 now Airbus Defense and Space \u2013 and Indonesia\u2019s IPTN.<\/p>\n
The newer model features a fuselage three meters longer than its predecessor, a reinforced airframe, and more powerful Pratt & Whitney PW127G engines. It also incorporates winglets at the wingtips, which reduce fuel consumption by three to six percent and improve takeoff performance in hot and high-altitude conditions.<\/p>\n
In terms of payload, the C295W can carry up to 7,050 kilograms under normal conditions and approximately nine tons at maximum capacity. That compares with six tons for the CN-235.<\/p>\n
Troop capacity rises from 51 passengers and 35 paratroopers on the CN-235 to 70 soldiers or 48 paratroopers on the C295W. This gives Morocco greater flexibility in managing airlift missions across the light-to-heavy transport spectrum.<\/p>\n
The Moroccan order also coincides with a parallel acquisition by neighboring Algeria. Earlier this year, Algiers placed an order for eight C295 aircraft valued at \u20ac385.2 million. Those units will also be assembled at the Airbus facility in Seville. Algeria already operates five C295s, bringing its projected fleet to thirteen.<\/p>\n
The simultaneous acquisition by both\u00a0 North African air forces of the same platform from the same production line in Seville is no coincidence. It reflects an intensifying competition for tactical airlift supremacy across the Mediterranean basin.<\/p>\n
In that sense, Morocco\u2019s move to secure its own C295W units signals that Rabat is unwilling to concede any operational gap in a domain where force projection and rapid troop deployment increasingly define regional power dynamics.<\/p>\n
In a neighborhood where strategic parity is not a luxury but a necessity, Morocco is making clear it intends to match \u2013 and where possible outpace \u2013 any capability buildup across its eastern border.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, at the same Seville plant, Airbus is advancing production on a separate C295 program for Spain\u2019s own Air Force. The company recently completed the first power-on of a C295 maritime patrol variant under a \u20ac1.695 billion contract signed in December 2023.<\/p>\n
That program covers sixteen aircraft \u2013 eight in a maritime patrol configuration and eight in a maritime surveillance variant \u2013 with the first deliveries expected in late 2026.<\/p>\n
The acquisition carries a clear political dimension. Madrid\u2019s recognition in 2022 of Morocco\u2019s Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara as the sole basis for resolving the territorial dispute accelerated what many observers now describe as a full-blown honeymoon between the two kingdoms, despite unresolved friction over Ceuta and Melilla and persistent anti-Morocco rhetoric from Spain\u2019s far-right.<\/p>\n
Read also: Spain-Built Warship for Morocco\u2019s Royal Navy Nears Delivery<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marraekch \u2013 Morocco\u2019s Royal Air Force is on the verge of receiving its first Airbus C295W military transport…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11537,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[90,9662,9663],"class_list":{"0":"post-11536","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-airbus","8":"tag-airbus","9":"tag-military-modernization","10":"tag-the-royal-moroccan-air-force-rmaf"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}