ORYX 26: When Moroccan F-16s Take to the French Skies
Mcg24, Paris.
Four F-16s from the Royal Moroccan Air Force have landed in Orange, alongside French Rafales. Behind this striking image lies a new chapter in military cooperation between Rabat and Paris.
This time, it was the Moroccan aircraft that made the journey. On September 23, four F-16s of the Royal Moroccan Air Force touched down at Air Base 115 in Orange. Just a few days later, they became part of ORYX 26, a Franco-Moroccan exercise held from September 28 to October 2, alongside the French Air and Space Force’s Rafales.
This scene is unusual: Moroccan F-16s stationed at a French base, Moroccan pilots and technicians working alongside their French counterparts, missions prepared and executed within a joint framework. But the significance of this scenario extends beyond a mere photograph. For Morocco, it represents an exercise in projection.
This Time, Morocco Comes to France
The F-16s didn’t travel alone. According to Raids Aviation, they were accompanied by a C-130H tasked with part of the logistical support, alongside a contingent of about fifty military personnel. This detail matters.
Flying a combat aircraft abroad is one thing; transporting the necessary personnel, maintenance equipment, and resources for its operation is another. At Air Base Orange, the Royal Moroccan Air Force must operate far from its familiar environment. They are working within a French infrastructure, adhering to French procedures, all while participating in a common scenario.
This experience is what gives ORYX 26 its real significance.
A Story That Doesn’t Start in Orange
This current sequence is an extension of already established cooperation. In 2025, during the Marathon exercise, French Rafales traveled to Morocco to train with the Moroccan F-16s. A year later, the roles reversed: the Rafales came to Morocco, and now the Moroccan F-16s are in France.
This alternating pattern is intriguing because it shifts cooperation from rhetoric to practice. The crews reunite, adapt to new environments, work together, and come to understand their partner’s methodologies.
These are very tangible aspects, and in military matters, experience often counts as much as equipment.
Let’s Forget the F-16 vs. Rafale Duel
The presence of both aircraft side by side could easily lead to a performance contest. However, that is not the point.
ORYX 26 focuses on the preparation and execution of air missions in an environment where air threats and surface-to-air defense systems are simulated. Pilots, controllers, mechanics, and support teams are all involved.
In other words, the exercise is not merely testing the aircraft. It’s about assessing the ability of personnel and systems to operate cohesively.
For the Royal Moroccan Air Force, the benefits are clear: each deployment of this type enhances crew experience and their ability to function in an international context.
A Deepening Cooperation
The air exercise is part of a broader Franco-Moroccan military collaboration. In the naval domain as well, both countries engage in joint activities, particularly with the CHEBEC 26 exercise in the Western Mediterranean. From Rabat’s perspective, this increase in exercises holds particular significance.
Morocco is modernizing its forces while also seeking to expand opportunities to train alongside various partners. France is included among other collaborations developed by the Kingdom. This approach allows for the construction of diverse operational experience without confining Moroccan defense policy to a single relationship.
Four F-16s and a Simple Message
Ultimately, one needs only to look at the photo taken in Orange: four Moroccan F-16s at a French base. There’s no need for a duel with the Rafale or a spectacular display of power. The image speaks for itself.
It illustrates a Moroccan air force capable of relocating its aircraft, its crews, and its support, and integrating them into a complex exercise far from its home bases. This is arguably one of the most compelling aspects of ORYX 26.
Morocco is not just looking to acquire modern aircraft. It wants its forces to know how to operate, support, and collaborate with other militaries as circumstances require.
In Orange, the Moroccan F-16s did not merely come to fly alongside the Rafales; they came to gain experience and to demonstrate just how far the Moroccan air force can project itself today.
