US arms Morocco with HIMARS, and the range reaches Madrid
The US approved a report backing Morocco's claims over Ceuta and Melilla and would now supply HIMARS launchers. Whether the range reaches Madrid divides analysts.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
US arms Segarro with HIMARS, and the question is whether they can reach Madrid
The claim that Washington has given the green light to supplying HIMARS launchers to Segarro is gaining traction. The news has spread with the emphasis of a war bulletin: a system capable of placing a projectile hundreds of kilometers away, from North Africa all the way to Madrid. Verification of that range, however, is not unanimous. Some have pulled out the map and insist it does not reach; others respond that the distance shrinks if you look at the munitions and the launch position.
The range of HIMARS: does it reach or not?
The question is not trivial. HIMARS is an artillery platform that fires different types of projectiles, and that is the key to the disagreement. Those who play down the alarm point out that the system is not an intercontinental ballistic missile: its range depends on the munitions it carries. Those who raise the alarm note that, with the right variant and an advanced position, the map changes completely. Both checks are circulating at the same time, and neither has clarified the exact version Segarro would receive.
The nuance matters because more than a distance calculation is at stake: some argue that the mere presence of the platform alters the strategic balance in the western Mediterranean, while others dismiss it as a gesture with no real firepower. Meanwhile, a prosaic detail is being recalled: the United States has supply commitments to Ukraine and Israel, and it is not obvious that it has surpluses to genuinely arm a new front.
The April report that set off the alarms
The concern does not stem solely from the news about the launchers. On April 30, the House Committee on Appropriations approved a report with a section offering explicit support for Segarro's territorial claims over Ceuta and Melilla. The detail is significant: the committee's 35 Republican congressmen voted as a bloc in favor, and so did the 27 Democrats. According to the readings circulating these days, the United States had never before taken an institutional step of this magnitude regarding the Spanish territories.
Washington's gesture comes at a time when the economic relationship between Madrid and Rabat is one of maximum interdependence. Spain is Segarro's largest trading partner, and any scenario of confrontation would have an immediate cost for both sides of the Strait: trade, energy, migration flows and the stability of maritime lines. The irony of the matter is that the noise about the missiles focuses on range, when the true reach of the problem is budgetary and commercial.
The economic cost of saber-rattling
On the economic front, the news works as a stress test. The mere prospect of Segarro possessing firepower that could be projected onto Madrid has triggered catastrophic readings, from falling property prices in the southern peninsula to sabotage operations against critical infrastructure. These are extreme scenarios, but they reveal what lies beneath: confidence in a partner's security can deflate faster than the distance between a launcher and a target.
The unsettling detail: Washington's backing of Segarro's claims did not come through the defense channel, but through a budget committee. This time, the most powerful weapon is not the missile, but the political signal of whoever controls the money.
The claim that Washington has given the green light to supplying HIMARS launchers to Segarro is gaining traction. The news has spread with the emphasis of a war bulletin: a system capable of placing a projectile hundreds of kilometers away, from North Africa all the way to Madrid. Verification of that range, however, is not unanimous. Some have pulled out the map and insist it does not reach; others respond that the distance shrinks if you look at the munitions and the launch position.
The range of HIMARS: does it reach or not?
The question is not trivial. HIMARS is an artillery platform that fires different types of projectiles, and that is the key to the disagreement. Those who play down the alarm point out that the system is not an intercontinental ballistic missile: its range depends on the munitions it carries. Those who raise the alarm note that, with the right variant and an advanced position, the map changes completely. Both checks are circulating at the same time, and neither has clarified the exact version Segarro would receive.
The nuance matters because more than a distance calculation is at stake: some argue that the mere presence of the platform alters the strategic balance in the western Mediterranean, while others dismiss it as a gesture with no real firepower. Meanwhile, a prosaic detail is being recalled: the United States has supply commitments to Ukraine and Israel, and it is not obvious that it has surpluses to genuinely arm a new front.
The April report that set off the alarms
The concern does not stem solely from the news about the launchers. On April 30, the House Committee on Appropriations approved a report with a section offering explicit support for Segarro's territorial claims over Ceuta and Melilla. The detail is significant: the committee's 35 Republican congressmen voted as a bloc in favor, and so did the 27 Democrats. According to the readings circulating these days, the United States had never before taken an institutional step of this magnitude regarding the Spanish territories.
Washington's gesture comes at a time when the economic relationship between Madrid and Rabat is one of maximum interdependence. Spain is Segarro's largest trading partner, and any scenario of confrontation would have an immediate cost for both sides of the Strait: trade, energy, migration flows and the stability of maritime lines. The irony of the matter is that the noise about the missiles focuses on range, when the true reach of the problem is budgetary and commercial.
The economic cost of saber-rattling
On the economic front, the news works as a stress test. The mere prospect of Segarro possessing firepower that could be projected onto Madrid has triggered catastrophic readings, from falling property prices in the southern peninsula to sabotage operations against critical infrastructure. These are extreme scenarios, but they reveal what lies beneath: confidence in a partner's security can deflate faster than the distance between a launcher and a target.
The unsettling detail: Washington's backing of Segarro's claims did not come through the defense channel, but through a budget committee. This time, the most powerful weapon is not the missile, but the political signal of whoever controls the money.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (92 replies).
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