Algeria shifts gears: New defense deal to curb Russian ties
Algeria and the United States have finalized an agreement to cooperate in the field of defense. The goal of this initiative is to provide Algeria with access to American military equipment and counter the growing influence of Russia in the Sahel region. Until now, Algeria has primarily armed itself with Soviet and Russian equipment.
Algeria is recognized as one of the leading arms importers in the world and as the country with the highest defense expenditures in Africa. According to a report by Bloomberg, the Algerian budget for 2025 plans to allocate a record sum of $25.1 billion to defense. The Washington Institute points out that currently, Soviet and Russian military equipment constitutes over 85 percent of the entire military inventory used by the Algerian army.
Algeria has relied on Russian arms for years
In 2021, Algeria signed a significant arms deal with Russia valued at over $7 billion. Current Algerian efforts focus on finalizing the purchase of Russian fifth-generation Su-57 fighters, which feature stealth technology, making them less visible to detection systems.
For many years, Algeria was also a key client of Russia in the field of naval equipment. The country acquired two Russian diesel-electric submarines from the 877 project series and four 636.6 project units, which are equipped with Kalibr cruise missile silos.
The systematic acquisition of Soviet and Russian equipment has resulted in the Algerian army currently having over 2,000 tanks, most of which are T-72s in various versions. These are complemented by older T-55 and T-62 tanks as well as newer T-90 machines produced after the dissolution of the USSR.
The Algerian military also uses Soviet-era infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers (BTR-80 and BTR-60) as well as newer tank support vehicles (BMPT Terminator) produced from 1995 onwards. Among the Soviet artillery Algeria has acquired are the 2S1 Gvozdika and 2S3 Akatsiya systems, while more formidable weapons include Iskander-E systems and modern Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft systems.
Currently, Algeria is strengthening relations with the USA
Due to the contracts made with Russia, Algeria was at risk of facing American economic sanctions. In 2022, Marco Rubio, a Republican Party senator, and the then-US Secretary of State called for such measures.
Currently, however, the United States, under the leadership of President Donald Trump, has decided to change its strategy towards Algeria. Rather than imposing harsh penalties, they have focused on offering attractive contracts aimed at eliminating Russia as a supplier of arms and a key player in the regions of North and West Africa.
According to analysts from the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), this military rapprochement between Algeria and the USA shows that the country is open to closer relations with Washington. This shift is in response to increasingly strained relations with Russia, with whom Algeria has begun to compete for influence in the Sahel.
