Morocco's fleet of modern tanks could be twice the size of Spain's with new K2

The Royal Moroccan Army may be considering a significant modernization of its fleet of armored vehicles.

The millionaire purchase of missile launchers by Morocco: Spain lacks these weapons
The future stealth fighters of Morocco and Algeria that should worry Spain

On January 16, barlamane.com published the following: "Morocco is considering, according to South Korean sources, the acquisition of approximately 400 K2 tanks and the Cheongung (KM-SAM) air defense system." This potential acquisition of the K2 Black Panther would make Morocco the first African user of this advanced main battle tank. The aforementioned website states: "The process was finalized in the spring of 2025, when the Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, traveled to Seoul to officially announce Rabat's interest in the K2 tank".

According to these South Korean sources, Morocco's interest in the K2 stems from the fact that "the exclusive support of Abrams tanks, including their most recent versions, no longer meets all the current operational needs" of the Moroccan Army, whose armored fleet is already quite large. Currently, Morocco operates 222 M-1A1SA Abrams tanks, an updated version of surplus M-1A1 tanks from the US Army. This fleet is being modernized following an agreement between the African nation and General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) to upgrade 162 of these 222 Abrams tanks to the M1A2 SEPv3 version. Deliveries of the modernized tanks began in 2022.

Furthermore, according to "The Military Balance 2024" by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Morocco also possesses 220 M-60A1 Pattons, 120 M60A3 Pattons, 40 T-72Bs (which are being upgraded to the T-72EA version), 47 T-72EAs, 54 MBT-2000 Al-Khalids (a Pakistani tank based on the Chinese Type 90), and approximately 200 M-48A5 Pattons, the latter in storage. If we exclude the M-48s, the result is an armored force of 703 tanks. Even if we disregard the now obsolete M-60s and T-72s (a model still being used in the Russian invasion of Ukraine), Morocco's most modern tanks number 274. With the new K2s, that number would reach 674.

This should be a cause for concern for Spain. The Spanish Army currently has 219 Leopardo 2E tanks (a variant of the Leopard 2 very similar to the A6, all of them deployed on the Iberian Peninsula) and 54 Leopard 2A4s located in Ceuta and Melilla, distributed, respectively, between th Cavalry Regiments "Montesa" No. 3 and "Alcántara" No. 10. In total, this amounts to 273 tanks, one less than the current fleet of the most modern tanks of the Royal Moroccan Army. With the new K2s, the African country could have a fleet of modern tanks more than double the size of Spain's.

The K2 Black Panther, in which Morocco has shown interest, is one of the most advanced tanks on the market. It has a 120mm main gun capable of firing KSTAM, a type of smart ammunition whose characteristics are classified, but which is known to have an effective range of 2 kilometers and a maximum range of 8 kilometers. This ammunition is capable of engaging concealed targets and descends upon its target by parachute, using gyroscopic guidance and microradar to select its targets during descent. Furthermore, the K2 has an active protection system, MAWS, which provides missile warning by automatically firing smoke grenades to jam enemy optical aiming systems. No Spanish tank currently has a similar system.

So far, Poland is the only European operator of the K2 Black Panther and its crews consider it an excellent tank. In fact, for the Polish Army, this South Korean tank even has certain advantages over the M1 Abrams, thanks to its lower weight and ISU hydropneumatic suspension, which allow it to move better in the swampy and muddy terrain of eastern Poland.

---

Main photo: 9 Braniewska Brygada Kawalerii Pancernej. Two K2 Black Panthers of the Polish Army.