After Israel recognized Morocco's sovereignty over the Moroccan Sahara, Morocco's next strategic step may be to consider the possibility of purchasing American-made F-35 aircraft. The purchase of these fighter jets by Morocco will change the military balance of power in the Maghreb region in Morocco's favor.

Despite the huge investments made by Morocco in recent years to modernize and strengthen its army, it still lags behind Algeria in terms of air power in terms of the number of aircraft.

In line with its determination to maintain its qualitative air superiority over Morocco, Algeria negotiated with Russia in order to acquire the Su-75 Checkmate fighter jet. The Su-75, produced by the Russian Sukhoi Corporation, is equipped with stealth technology and is designed to directly compete against the US-made F-35. If the negotiations between Russia and Algeria are successful, the Algerian regime could obtain the fighter plane by 2029.

But this military advantage, which Algeria seeks to upgrade, could be shattered if Morocco succeeds in persuading the United States to allow it to enter the club of selected countries authorized to purchase this fighter jet, the F-35.

It is no secret that one of the basic principles of US foreign policy in the Middle East is to allow Israel to maintain its qualitative military advantage and superiority over its neighbors. All US administrations in recent decades have adhered to this policy and avoided signing a military agreement that could undermine Israel's military superiority over its neighbors.

This explains why Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has the F-35 in its arsenal. Undoubtedly, in January 2021, the United States signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates that will make the Gulf state the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region to acquire the fifth generation of this fighter jet. However, the deal stalled due to a number of conditions imposed by the Biden administration on the UAE government.

Washington's growing concern over the developing economic ties between Abu Dhabi and China is the main reason behind the stalled negotiations between Abu Dhabi and Washington over the completion of the sale and delivery of the F-35. In other words, the US is unhappy with the UAE's growing trade and technology relationship with China.

In addition, the United States is not satisfied with the contracts signed by some companies in the Emirates with the Chinese company Huawei to provide them with 5G technology. American officials fear that the deployment of Huawei cell towers near the US military's F-35 bases in this country will allow China to steal technical information of the stealth aircraft.

However, it would be unwise to rule out the possibility of a full-scale military confrontation between Algiers and Rabat.

The only way to avoid this scenario is to have the military power that will deter any hostile force from taking measures that could endanger peace and stability in the Maghreb region.

As for this tense and explosive situation, it seems that Morocco's purchase of the F-35 aircraft and the military and political support of the United States and Israel is the safest and best deterrent against Algeria.

Even if Algeria acquires a fifth-generation Russian fighter jet, it will not jeopardize Morocco's qualitative air superiority thanks to the advanced technology of the F-35, which is far superior to that of the Chinese or Russians.