Morocco–France Maritime Cooperation: Exercise CHEBEC 26

By these concrete actions and through exchanges between sailors 🇲🇦🇫🇷, CHEBEC 26 illustrates the strengthening of operational cooperation between the French Navy and the Royal Moroccan Navy, both committed to maritime security in the Mediterranean.

A naval event that has become a classic

Every autumn, or nearly so, the French and Moroccan navies meet for Chebec. The exercise is held every year and reportedly dates back to 1994, according to the Moroccan press. The 2026 edition, presented as the 33rd, opened in Toulon on September 14, with a dockside phase followed by operations at sea.

I dwell on it because regularity matters as much as spectacle. A navy that trains every year with the same partner learns to speak the same operational language: communication procedures, escort conduct, coordination between ships and aircraft. These routines cannot be improvised in a crisis.

The French armed forces general staff describes this exercise as an important milestone in operational cooperation between the two navies. It points out that this naval cooperation also extends to training, education, hydrography, oceanography and technical support.

Toulon, then the open sea

The first phase took place in Toulon, a French naval base on the Mediterranean. The Moroccan frigate Tarik Ben Ziyad arrived there with 110 sailors, according to the Moroccan press. In Hyères, a Panther helicopter from the Royal Moroccan Navy’s 11F flotilla trained alongside the French Navy’s 36F flotilla.

According to the Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean, this dockside phase is primarily about preparing and coordinating activities. It is less visible than the maneuvers at sea, but it determines their success. Scenarios are aligned, crews check that they understand one another, and the small details that save time at sea are settled.

The second phase took place in the western Mediterranean. According to information released by the two navies and relayed by the specialized press, it brought together several types of training:

• air defense and anti-surface warfare maneuvers;
• joint patrols;
• simulated maritime crisis scenarios;
• a cybersecurity component, presented as a new feature of this edition.

What cross-deck helicopter operations change

Among the most telling sequences, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces confirmed the “cross-employment of embarked helicopters.” In practice, the Moroccan Panther operated from a French frigate. Conversely, the French Navy’s aircraft was hosted aboard the Moroccan frigate Tarik Ben Ziyad.

The technical stakes are real. Landing a helicopter on another country’s ship requires sharing approach, refueling and safety procedures, and also checking that the platforms are compatible. This is what the term interoperability covers: the ability of different forces to work together without friction. I note that this compatibility is tested precisely during exercises like this one.

A port call in Tangier to take stock

The exercise did not end on the high seas. The Moroccan frigate Tarik Ben Ziyad and the French frigate Guépratte, a light stealth frigate, made a port call in Tangier from September 30. This stage hosted a “VIP Day,” co-chaired by Rear Admiral Mohamed Tahin, Inspector of the Royal Moroccan Navy, and Vice Admiral Laurent Hermann, commander of the Mediterranean maritime zone of the French Navy.

The choice of Tangier is no coincidence. The city sits at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, one of the busiest crossing points for global maritime trade, at the junction of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Concluding a maritime security exercise there gives the scenario worked on at sea a very concrete meaning.

A format that has grown since 2023

It is useful to place this edition in a longer perspective. In 2023, Chebec brought together the frigate Tarik Ben Ziyad and the French frigate La Fayette around crisis management and maritime safety and security. The crews carried out anti-submarine, anti-air and anti-surface exercises, as well as dives involving French mine clearance divers and Moroccan commandos.

The 2024 edition, the 30th according to the press, was held from October 7 to 13 and for the first time involved a French Navy nuclear attack submarine (SSN). It also included, for the first time, an anti-submarine warfare component. According to the Moroccan press, the 2025 edition ran from November 3 to 22, between Toulon, Hyères and Tangier.

For 2026, the Moroccan press reports the participation of a French nuclear attack submarine in the Mediterranean phase. The addition of a cyber component completes the picture. The scope of the exercise is therefore widening year after year, from classic maritime security toward a broader range of naval operations.

Key figures and milestones

• Edition: the 33rd, according to the Moroccan press;
• Launch in Toulon: September 14, 2026;
• Port call in Tangier: from September 30;
• Ships mentioned: the frigate Tarik Ben Ziyad (Morocco) and the light stealth frigate Guépratte (France);
• Crew of the Moroccan frigate in Toulon: 110 sailors, according to the Moroccan press.

An air component running in parallel

Chebec was not the only Franco-Moroccan military cooperation activity this September. The French Ministry of the Armed Forces presents the naval exercise and the Oryx 26 air exercise as two simultaneous strands of cooperation with Morocco. According to Morocco World News, four Moroccan F-16s joined French Rafales at Orange-Caritat Air Base 115, a first for these Moroccan aircraft at that base.

This concurrence strikes me as significant. It shows a cooperation that is no longer confined to a single domain, even though each exercise remains distinct in its objectives and its resources.

Why this cooperation matters

I read this exercise on three levels.

The first is operational. The two navies have comparable capabilities in several areas, including anti-submarine warfare, which makes joint training useful. The second is strategic: the western Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar concentrate essential trade flows, and their security directly concerns both shores. The third is diplomatic. Chebec fits into the climate of rapprochement between Rabat and Paris that followed the French president’s state visit to Morocco in October 2024.

Some restraint is nonetheless warranted. A bilateral exercise is not the same as a formal alliance, and the two navies’ official statements stress training and interoperability first. The benefits depend on the continuity of exchanges, the frequency of training and the ability to integrate new domains, such as cyber, without losing coherence. The published images illustrate these exchanges, but on their own they do not say what the crews take away from them.

What comes next

The open question is one of trajectory. Chebec has added a submarine, then a cyber component, and it now runs in parallel with an air exercise. I will be watching what follows: will the exercise keep this expanded format, or become the framework for even more integrated cooperation? The next editions will provide some answers.

FAQ

What is the Chebec exercise?

It is a bilateral naval exercise between the French Navy and the Royal Moroccan Navy, held every year. It aims to strengthen interoperability and maritime security in the Mediterranean.

When and where did the 2026 edition take place?

It began in Toulon on September 14, 2026, then continued in the western Mediterranean. A port call in Tangier took place from September 30.

Which ships took part?

The press cites the Moroccan frigate Tarik Ben Ziyad and the French light stealth frigate Guépratte, as well as helicopters from both navies. A French nuclear attack submarine is also mentioned.

What was new in 2026?

According to the French command of the Mediterranean maritime zone, the exercise included a cyber component. The Ministry of the Armed Forces also confirmed the cross-employment of embarked helicopters on the other navy’s ships.