The Morocco-France Chebec military exercise has entered its sea phase, with the two navies testing their responsiveness and coordination in the Mediterranean while adding cyber operations to their traditional training activities.
The maritime phase of the exercise began on Tuesday, September 22. “An annual meeting between the two navies for maritime security in the Mediterranean, it began with joint preparations at the Toulon naval base and the Hyères Naval Air Base,” the French Navy said.
The 33rd edition of Chebec began on Monday, September 14 with a port phase before moving on to operations at sea. This year’s exercise includes a cyber component for the first time alongside its traditional areas of warfare training.
During the 2026 CHEBEC exercise.
According to the French Mediterranean maritime prefecture and the Mediterranean Maritime Zone and District Command (Cecmed), the participating vessels initially focused on preparing and coordinating the activities.
The program included maneuvering and navigation simulator sessions, as well as firefighting and damage-control exercises. The Royal Moroccan Navy’s Tarik Ben Ziyad frigate is one of the main vessels taking part in the exercise.
According to the French Navy, “the deployment at sea of the frigates and their embarked helicopters marks the beginning of the sea phase.” Panther helicopters from Morocco’s 11F squadron and France’s 36F squadron are taking part in the operations.
In comments previously given to Le360, the French Armed Forces General Staff said that “the Chebec exercise continues to represent an important milestone in operational cooperation between the French Navy and the Royal Moroccan Navy.”
“A pillar of French-Moroccan bilateral cooperation, naval activities involve joint actions in training, education, hydrography, oceanography and technical support. The two nations are also reaffirming their shared commitment to strengthening dialogue and regional cooperation within the framework of the 5+5 Defense Initiative,” the French Armed Forces General Staff said.
