Every war the Royal Moroccan Air Force has fought
Western Sahara is given with each party’s position: Morocco regards it as its southern provinces and proposes autonomy, the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and seeks self-determination, and the UN lists it as a non-self-governing territory. Morocco has never published its losses of 1975–1991; the counts given come from one Helion history via Wikipedia, whose articles disagree. Since the ceasefire broke down in November 2020, strike reports come mainly from Moroccan media citing unnamed sources, and the Royal Armed Forces confirm none. The F-16 lost over Yemen on 10 May 2015 is given with both accounts: Morocco said it went missing, and the Houthis claimed to have shot it down. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From the Sand War with Algeria in 1963 to the drone war east of the Western Sahara berm.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
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| The Sand Warthe 1963 border war with AlgeriaRoyal Air Force (then Sherifian Royal Aviation) | 1963 | Algeria | C-119, C-47, T-6and 1 more | |||
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Reconnaissance, transport and some ground attack in support of the army. Morocco claimed Tindouf and Béchar on historical grounds; Algeria held to the colonial borders. Fighting ran from 25 September to 30 October 1963. Wikipedia’s air force article lists Moroccan C-119s, C-47s and T-6s flying reconnaissance and MS.733 Alcyons on ground attack, and its Sand War article notes that Morocco had modern strike aircraft and Algeria did not; yet that article records little use of air power, the only air attack it names being an Algerian one at Oued Zeknou. The Organisation of African Unity mediated the settlement. Outcome Stalemate; ceasefire under the Bamako Accord of 30 October 1963 and a treaty on 20 February 1964, with no change of border. Air activity in this war is thinly documented in the sources reachable.
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| The Yom Kippur War deployment to Egyptan F-5A squadron at TantaRoyal Air Force | 1973–1974 | Israel | F-5A | |||
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An F-5A squadron reinforced the Egyptian Air Force. Morocco, which also sent ground troops to the Arab front, deployed a squadron of F-5As that joined the Egyptian 69 Squadron at Tanta on 19 October 1973, late in the war. According to Wikipedia, the Moroccan F-5As intercepted Israeli Mirage IIICJs in January 1974; no claim of a kill or loss by either side was found. Outcome The squadron returned after the ceasefire. Single-source account (Wikipedia, citing Cooper et al.).
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| The Western Sahara Warthe war with the Polisario FrontRoyal Air Force | 1975–1991 | Polisario Front (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) | Mirage F1, F-5A/E, Alpha Jetand 5 more | |||
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Close air support, interdiction and reconnaissance against the Polisario Front throughout the war; air refuelling from 1982. The war began as Spain withdrew in 1975–1976: Morocco regards Western Sahara as its southern provinces, while the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and seeks self-determination; the UN lists it as a non-self-governing territory. Wikipedia’s Western Sahara War article states that Moroccan jets attacked refugee camps at Umm Dreiga in early 1976 with napalm and white phosphorus, and that a Moroccan Mirage machine-gunned the Spanish destroyer Almirante Ferrándiz about 8 km off the coast on 17 January 1980. The Mirage F1s entered combat in October 1979 and suffered losses to Polisario air defences in November and December 1979 and February 1980, leading to new tactics with hunter-killer teams. The berm, built through the 1980s, reduced the Polisario’s mobility; in 1984 the Polisario shot down two Moroccan aircraft and a Belgian aircraft, according to Wikipedia. Outcome UN-monitored ceasefire from 6 September 1991; Morocco held about 70 per cent of the territory west of its defensive wall (the berm), the Polisario about 30 per cent east of it. Loss figures come from one Helion history via Wikipedia and disagree with each other; Morocco has not published official figures.
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| Strikes against the Islamic StateF-16s from the UAERoyal Air Force | 2014 | Islamic State | F-16C/D | 0 | ||
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F-16s flew combat missions against ISIL from the United Arab Emirates. In late 2014 Morocco sent F-16s into combat against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, operating from the United Arab Emirates, according to Wikipedia citing the New York Times. Morocco did not publish the scale or duration of the deployment. Outcome The first combat use of the Moroccan F-16. Single-source account (Wikipedia). |
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| The Saudi-led intervention in YemenOperation Decisive StormRoyal Air Force | 2015–2019 | Houthis (Ansar Allah) | F-16C/D | 1 | ||
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Six F-16s took part in the Saudi-led coalition air campaign. Morocco committed six F-16s when the coalition campaign began in March 2015. On 10 May 2015 the Moroccan government said one of them had gone missing over Yemen with its pilot. The Houthis claimed responsibility, and Yemeni state television said tribal militias had brought it down over Saada Governorate and broadcast images of the wreckage. The cause was never independently established in the sources checked. Morocco’s involvement ended in 2019. Outcome Morocco ended its participation in 2019 as relations with Saudi Arabia deteriorated, according to Wikipedia. The cause of the F-16 loss is disputed between Moroccan and Houthi accounts.
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| Renewed hostilities in Western Saharathe drone war east of the bermRoyal Air Force and Royal Armed Forces | 2020–present | Polisario Front | Bayraktar TB2 (reported), other drones (reported) | |||
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Reported armed and surveillance drone strikes against Polisario units and vehicles east of the berm. On 13 November 2020 Moroccan forces moved into the Guerguerat buffer zone near Mauritania to reopen the road, and the Polisario declared the 1991 ceasefire broken. Since then Moroccan media report that armed drones strike Polisario units that cross east of the berm, a pattern International Crisis Group analysts are quoted as saying has blunted Polisario raids; the Royal Armed Forces have issued no statement confirming specific strikes. Human Rights Watch recorded a Polisario rocket attack on Smara in May 2024 that fell short. Morocco’s position is that the territory is Moroccan and that autonomy is the solution; the Polisario seeks a self-determination referendum and says resolution 2797 implies no recognition of Moroccan sovereignty. Algeria did not vote on the resolution. Outcome Ongoing at low intensity. Security Council resolution 2797 (31 October 2025) renewed MINURSO and backed talks on the basis of Morocco’s autonomy proposal. Strike reports come mainly from Moroccan media citing unnamed sources; UN reports on the hostilities could not be reached for this page.
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Nothing matches that search.
Every figure, checked
- Hespress: Moroccan drones turn Polisario raids east of berm into battlefield trap (10 June 2026)Moroccan press account; no official military statement.
- Hespress: Moroccan drone strike kills senior Polisario commander near buffer zone (15 May 2025)Unnamed sources; strike near Mahbes.
- Human Rights Watch: World Report 2025, Morocco and Western SaharaPolisario rockets at Smara May 2024; no OHCHR access since 2015.
- Security Council Report: Western Sahara, April 2026 Monthly ForecastResolution 2797, vote and positions.
- Al Jazeera: UN Security Council supports Morocco’s plan for Western Sahara (31 October 2025)Positions of Morocco, the Polisario and Algeria.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Back to the Royal Moroccan Air Force.