ByAMINE AYOUB

JUNE 22, 2026 09:20

Updated: JUNE 22, 2026 09:29

Spanish lawmakers from the far-right Vox party posed a striking query to parliament in late May: Is Madrid ready to handle a possible Moroccan strike involving Israeli-designed SpyX suicide drones now built locally via a partnership between Morocco's Royal Armed Forces and Israeli firm BlueBird Aero Systems?

The inquiry was presented as a security matter. It actually highlights a shift. When a NATO legislature starts formally assessing defenses against Israeli-origin weapons manufactured across the Strait of Gibraltar, the Abraham Accords' technology transfers have evolved from talks into concrete regional influence.

The 2026 budget year reveals contrasting defense approaches between Rabat and Algiers. Morocco pursues a focused upgrade plan, directing $17.1 billion into cutting-edge systems and local production capacity through collaborations with Israeli companies such as BlueBird Aero Systems.

Algeria instead has set aside a historic $25 billion for its armed forces, equal to 20.6 percent of the national budget and close to 9 percent of GDP. This outlay surpasses combined spending on education and health and relies on a central deficit above 10 percent.

Algeria's defense share of GDP now ranks second globally, behind only Ukraine. Algeria faces no active conflict unlike Ukraine. The buildup directly addresses capabilities Morocco is gaining, many of which trace to Israeli sources.

Outside Casablanca in the Benslimane industrial zone, BlueBird Aero Systems opened a specialized plant for SpyX loitering munitions, marking the first such site in North Africa or the Middle East beyond Israel.

The man-portable systems offer a 50-kilometer range, up to 120 minutes of flight time, terminal speeds over 250 kilometers per hour, and a 2.5-kilogram warhead suited for strikes on armored targets, command centers, and priority assets.

SpyX integrates into a layered air defense setup featuring Israel's Barak MX, China's FD-2000B, and the Sky Dragon 50. Morocco has also obtained Harpoon Block II missiles from France along with U.S. platforms such as F-16 jets, AH-64 Apache helicopters, and HIMARS launchers.

The result is a force that has transformed from a Soviet-style regional army into a multi-domain precision capability in five years, built on American platforms, fused with Israeli expertise, and now manufacturing its own loitering munitions at home.

While Algiers stays linked to older Russian equipment and Iranian-linked groups, Rabat benefits from its strategic realignment. Developments in Syria have reinforced this view: an Algerian brigadier general and roughly 500 troops from the Algerian army and Polisario forces were held while supporting pro-Iranian elements, with reports indicating training from Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah. Rabat views this as clear proof of an Iran-Hezbollah-Polisario connection, supporting its 2018 break with Tehran.

Algeria's military leadership is directing a quarter of the budget to defense amid a deficit projected to drain foreign reserves in three to five years at present rates. The approach is unsustainable long term. It reflects a short-term decision to showcase army strength and match Morocco's Israeli-supported modernization through numbers rather than quality.

Algerian acquisitions target Morocco's Israeli-derived systems specifically, stressing layered air defenses, electronic warfare, long-range precision weapons, and anti-drone measures. In effect Algeria is investing $25 billion to build counters to capabilities absent from Moroccan forces five years ago and whose latest versions continue to arrive under the 2026 Israel-Morocco military cooperation plan.

The Spanish parliamentary question and Algeria's unprecedented defense outlay reflect the same development from separate perspectives. The Abraham Accords have driven the Maghreb's largest defense technology change in a generation, prompting reactions from Algerian planning to NATO discussions.

Washington should view this as a strategic gain to be reinforced rather than a risk to be limited. Morocco and Israel finalized their 2026 joint military plan in January, setting up ongoing dialogue, shared industrial efforts, training exercises, and alignment on threats, with Israeli officials calling Morocco Jerusalem's key security partner in Africa.

Washington should establish a formal trilateral security structure, open talks on Morocco's future access to advanced U.S. systems based on its proven reliability, and tie U.S. engagement with Algeria to clear reductions in military posturing toward a U.S.-aligned partner.

Algeria is expending resources toward fiscal strain to offset Israeli weapons. Washington should clarify its position in this dynamic.

Amine Ayoub, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco. Follow him on X: @amineayoubx