By The Rio Times | Created at 2026-10-06 18:32:04 | Updated at 2026-10-06 20:05:52
2 hours ago
MOROCCO · AEROSPACE
Key Facts
- —The country Morocco, the North African kingdom facing Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar, has built an aircraft-parts industry over two decades.
- —The background Its aerospace exports reached about US$2.3 billion from January to August, up 21.5% on the same months last year.
- —Why now Lockheed Martin, the US maker of F-16 jets, is a platinum sponsor of the Marrakech Airshow from 7 October.
- —What happened Lockheed set a supplier day for Tuesday, 6 October, with Morocco’s industry ministry taking part, to scout local manufacturers.
- —The catch The step is exploratory, and neither side has announced a contract, an investment figure or a signed memorandum.
- —What it means for you For US investors in Lockheed, listed in New York, this is long-term supply-chain groundwork, not new revenue.
- —Still open Which Moroccan firms took part, and whether any will become qualified Lockheed suppliers, has not been disclosed.
The American defence group wants more Moroccan firms in its supply chain, but Tuesday’s meeting is a first look, not a deal.
Lockheed Martin, the American maker of the F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, set aside Tuesday, 6 October, to meet Moroccan suppliers. Morocco’s Ministry of Industry and Trade was due to take part, on the eve of the Marrakech Airshow.
The goal is to find factories in Morocco that could make parts for Lockheed’s current and future programmes. For US readers, it shows a major Pentagon contractor looking for new sources of parts on Europe’s southern doorstep.
The step is exploratory. Neither Lockheed nor the ministry has announced a contract, an investment amount or a signed memorandum of understanding.
What Lockheed Martin Wants From Moroccan Suppliers
Lockheed announced the plan in a press release on Friday, 2 October. It described an Industry Day to brief Moroccan suppliers on qualification requirements and to discuss manufacturing opportunities.
In aerospace, a qualified supplier is a plant that has passed the buyer’s audits on quality, security and traceability. The process is demanding, which is why a first briefing is only the opening step.
Steve Sheehy is vice-president for international business at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, the aircraft division. He said the company wants Moroccan companies “to play a greater role” in its global supply chain.
Hespress, a Moroccan news site, reported on Sunday, 4 October, that the company wants to identify new manufacturing capacity in the kingdom. It added that Lockheed also hopes to build up aircraft maintenance skills locally.
Aéronautique.ma, a Moroccan trade site, noted on 3 October that the plan reflects intentions, not firm industrial contracts.
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Morocco’s Aerospace Industry in Numbers
Morocco’s Office des Changes, which compiles trade data, puts January-to-August aerospace exports at MAD 22.97 billion (about US$2.3 billion). That is up 21.5% from MAD 18.9 billion (about US$1.9 billion) a year earlier.
Conversions use exchange rates of 5 October 2026. As a yardstick, aircraft parts made up almost 7% of all Moroccan goods exports in those eight months.
In October 2024, Industry and Trade Minister Ryad Mezzour said the sector had grown from eight companies to more than 150. He put employment at about 24,000 people and set a goal of 25,000 more jobs within six years.
On Monday, 13 October 2025, King Mohammed VI launched work on an engine complex for Safran, the French aerospace group. It is being built at Midparc, an aerospace industrial zone at Nouaceur near Casablanca.
The government portal maroc.ma put Safran’s total investment at more than €350 million (about US$394 million). One plant is designed to assemble 350 LEAP-1A engines a year, the engine used on the Airbus A320neo.
Why US Defence Firms Are Looking at Morocco
Morocco is already a long-standing Lockheed customer. Its air force received its first C-130H Hercules transport plane in 1974, according to the company.
In 2022 Lockheed, Belgium’s Sabena Engineering and MEDZ set up Maintenance Aéro Maroc, a Moroccan aircraft-maintenance company. MEDZ is an industrial-zone developer owned by CDG, a Moroccan state financial group.
In October 2025 the partners broke ground on a hangar of more than 8,000 square metres at Benslimane, between Casablanca and Rabat. That is about one and a half American football fields, initially for heavy maintenance of C-130s.
The scouting is not new either. On Thursday, 12 December 2024, Lockheed said senior executives had toured Eaton-Souriau in Tangier, a maker of components for its systems.
That visit was organised with AMDIE, Morocco’s investment and export agency. Separately, on Tuesday, Lockheed announced the first flight of Morocco’s first new F-16 Block 72 fighter.
What It Means for US Readers
For shareholders of Lockheed Martin, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday’s meeting carries no announced revenue. It is supply-chain groundwork in a country that already flies its aircraft.
A US free-trade agreement with Morocco has been in force since 1 January 2006, according to the US Trade Representative’s office. It lowers tariff barriers for goods moving between the two countries.
Large arms purchases are often paired with local industrial work in the buying country, as in Lockheed’s F-16 offer to Peru. No such programme has been announced for Morocco, so any link between future orders and Moroccan factories remains speculative.
What Is Not Known
By Tuesday afternoon US time, Lockheed had published no readout of the supplier day. The number and names of participating firms are not known.
It is also unclear whether GIMAS, the association of Moroccan aerospace manufacturers, took part. No part, product or value for future Moroccan work has been named.
Lockheed is promoting its C-130J Super Hercules as a way to modernise Morocco’s military airlift. No order has been announced.
What Comes Next
The Marrakech Airshow runs from Wednesday, 7 October, to Saturday, 10 October. Lockheed plans to show an F-35 cockpit demonstrator, with a US Air Force C-130J and Moroccan F-16s on the flight line.
Supplier qualification, if it happens, would take months of audits. Tuesday’s meeting does not mean Lockheed is opening a factory in Morocco, or that Morocco is buying the F-35.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Lockheed Martin?
Lockheed Martin is a US defence company based in Bethesda, Maryland, that builds the F-16 and F-35 fighters and the C-130 Hercules. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
Is Lockheed Martin building a factory in Morocco?
No factory has been announced. The 6 October meeting was meant to identify Moroccan suppliers and explain the company’s qualification rules.
What does Morocco’s aerospace industry make?
Moroccan plants assemble aircraft parts and build electrical wiring systems for global aircraft makers. Safran is also building a complex near Casablanca to assemble and repair LEAP jet engines.
Why would a US defence firm buy parts from Morocco?
Morocco has an established aerospace base, an air force that already flies Lockheed aircraft and a free-trade agreement with the United States. Arms buyers also often seek local industrial work, though none is announced here.
What is the Marrakech Airshow?
It is Morocco’s main aerospace and defence trade fair, held in Marrakech from 7 to 10 October. Manufacturers use it to show aircraft and meet government and industry buyers.
Sources: Lockheed Martin, release of 2 October 2026; Office des Changes, external trade indicators, August 2026; maroc.ma, Safran engine complex; Lockheed Martin, release of 12 December 2024; Office of the US Trade Representative; Hespress; Aéronautique.ma; Hespress, October 2024 (all accessed 6 October 2026).
