Lockheed Martin Scouts Moroccan Suppliers
The US maker of the F-16 is meeting Moroccan suppliers before the Marrakech Airshow to see which firms could join its supply chain. No deal has been announced. The post Lockheed Martin Scouts Moroccan Suppliers appeared first on The Rio Times .
American defense corporation Lockheed Martin made a trip to Morocco on Tuesday, 6 October, to scout potential suppliers for parts used in its current and future programmes. The visit came on the eve of the Marrakech Airshow and aimed to identify factories in Morocco that could manufacture components for the company's various projects. The exploration was not a formal deal or contract, as neither Lockheed Martin nor Morocco's Ministry of Industry and Trade had announced anything concrete.
During the meeting, Lockheed Martin officially announced an "Industry Day" to brief Moroccan suppliers on qualification requirements and discuss potential manufacturing opportunities. To qualify as a supplier, a plant must pass audits on quality, security, and traceability, a process that is rigorous and time-consuming. Steve Sheehy, vice-president for international business at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, expressed the company's desire for Moroccan firms to play a bigger role in its global supply chain.
Morocco has been an established customer of Lockheed Martin since its air force received its first C-130H Hercules transport plane in 1974. In 2022, Lockheed, Belgium's Sabena Engineering, and MEDZ (owned by CDG, a Moroccan state financial group) set up Maintenance Aéro Maroc, a Moroccan aircraft-maintenance company. The company also broke ground in October 2025 on a hangar of over 8,000 square meters at Benslimane, initially for heavy maintenance of C-130s.
The visit to Morocco is part of Lockheed Martin's broader strategy to expand its supply chain and tap into new sources of parts, particularly in Europe's southern region. The company's C-130J Super Hercules is being promoted as a way to modernize Morocco's military airlift, but no orders have been announced. The Marrakech Airshow, which runs from 7 to 10 October, will see Lockheed Martin showcasing an F-35 cockpit demonstrator, along with F-16s and C-130Js from the US Air Force.
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