The combined Moroccan-American exercise “African Lion 2022″ ended Thursday at Cap Draâ (Tan Tan), with training between the Royal Armed Forces and the American Armed Forces.
During this exercise, which was attended by Lieutenant General Belkhir El Farouk, Inspector General of the FAR and Commander of the Southern Zone, and General Stephen Townsend, Commander of the American Command for Africa (AFRICOM), maneuvers were carried out by F16 planes, in addition to bombardments of targets by helicopters of the Apache type and with the help of armored vehicles, accompanied by “Abrams” tanks.
The exercise also included shelling by “Abrams” tanks during maneuvers and shelling with “HIMARS” missile launchers.
“We are present here to participate in the 18th edition of the African Lion 2022 exercise, which is the largest and most diversified multinational and multidisciplinary operation that we have been conducting in Africa, in partnership with the Royal Armed Forces since 2004” , underlined General Townsend in a statement to the press on this occasion, expressing his deep thanks to the FAR, the Moroccan government and the Southern Zone Command.
These maneuvers, marking the end of this 18th edition that “I followed, alongside the General of the Army Corps, Belkhir El Farouk, Inspector General of the FAR, Commander of the Southern Zone, were the result of training which lasted three to four weeks”, he noted, while welcoming the organization of these exercises and the results of these maneuvers.
The “African Lion” exercise has three main objectives: to perfect the skills of all participating units, to improve interoperability and to strengthen the ability to work and cooperate now and in the future, noted General Townsend before concluding by stressing that these maneuvers have strengthened the partnership between Morocco and the United States as well as the participating countries.
For his part, Colonel Major Abdelhaq Mhasni, Deputy Officer to the Chief of the Third Office of the General Staff/South Zone, indicated, in a similar statement, that the 18th edition of the “African Lion” exercise was marked by achieving all the objectives of military training in the various fields of planning and multinational implementation of operations, logistical support, interoperability, humanitarian aid, material support and integration of new partners.
“Our follow-up to these closing exercises demonstrates the importance of the strategic partnership between Morocco and the United States of America, desired by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Supreme Leader and Chief of the General Staff of the FAR”, underlined Colonel Major Mhasni.
Organized by the Royal Armed Forces and the American Armed Forces, in accordance with the High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Supreme Chief and Chief of General Staff of the FAR, the “African Lion” exercise aims to perfect the capabilities of intervention of the participating units and to strengthen their combined action capabilities in terms of the planning and implementation of military operations within the framework of a coalition.
This year’s edition (June 20-30) saw the participation of 10 African and international countries, including Morocco and the United States, as well as about twenty military observers from partner countries in the regions of Agadir, Benguerir, Kenitra, Mahbès, Taroudant and Tan Tan.
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