The Moroccan Defence Ministry has begun evaluating a potential acquisition of up to 400 South Korean K2 Black Panther main battle tanks, as part of a broader modernisation plan for the country’s ground forces. This follows a visit to Seoul in April 2025 by Morocco’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, during which he formally expressed an interest in the K2. The Defence Ministry is reportedly also considering procuring KM-SAM medium range air defence systems, K9 self-propelled howitzers, and KSS-III submarines, which would mark the South Korean defence sector’s greatest inroad into African or Arab markets to date following more minor successes exporting to Iraq.
The Moroccan Army currently fields approximately 650 main battle tanks, more than half of which are considered decades past obsolescence. These include 222 M1A1 Abrams tanks, the heaviest type of main battle tank in the world, as well as 54 Type 90 II tanks developed in China for export in the 2000s. The remainder of the fleet is made up of M60 tanks, which even by the mid-1970s were considered out of date. The Army formerly fielded T-72B tanks, although these have reportedly been placed in storage, with a significant portion having been sent to Ukraine as aid.
The procurement of 400 K2 tanks would allow the Army to phase its M60 and Type 90 II tanks out of service, providing vehicles that are significantly more modern and capable than the M1A1 while having far lower maintenance requirements and sustainment costs.
Moroccan defence procurements have significant implications for the Algerian Armed Forces, which although primarily oriented towards deterring possible attacks by NATO members similar to those launched against Libya in 2011, are also focused on safeguarding the country’s territory against Morocco, a close Western strategic partner. Following the overthrow of the Syrian state by Western, Turkish, and Israeli backed insurgents in 2024, it has been widely speculated that these actors would work with Morocco to seek to intensify pressure on Algeria’s defences. Both Turkey and Israel have since moved to significantly strengthen defence ties with Rabat. Although the discrepancy in aerial warfare capabilities between Morocco and Algeria is expected to continue to grow, on the ground the K2 would provide the Moroccan Army with what is likely the most capable tank type on the African continent, significantly shifting the balance of power.
Russia’s tank industry has increasingly fallen behind those of the Koreas, including in the development of active protection systems and advanced top attack anti-tank missiles.
Algeria may respond to a large Moroccan order for K2 tanks by accelerating efforts to modernise its T-90 tanks, possibly with Chinese assistance, while also considering the procurement of Chinese tanks such as the VT-4 tanks which is estimated to have entered service some time in 2027.
The K2 is in many respects the most capable NATO standard tank in service worldwide, with its autoloader reducing crew requirements by 25 percent and providing a far higher rate of fire than Western tanks, while its ability to operate as an artillery system with an indirect fire mode is near unique. The tank integrates a millimetre band radar system which can serve as a Missile Approach Warning System, working with the tank’s computer’s ability to triangulate incoming projectiles and fire visual and infrared screening smoke grenades. Combined with its laser rangefinder and a crosswind sensor, this radar provides a lock-on targeting capability. The K2’s thermographic camera with a ‘lock on’ mode allows it to track specific targets at very long ranges of 9.8 kilometres. The tank has gained growing popularity within NATO, with both South Korea and Turkey planning to each field 1000, the latter with local modifications as the Altay, while it is considered a frontrunner in tenders in Romania and Slovakia.
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