Algeria shifts military ties from Russia to USA for defence boost
Algeria and the United States have finalised an agreement on defence cooperation. This endeavour aims to give Algeria access to American military equipment and counter Russia's growing influence in the Sahel region. Until now, Algeria has primarily armed itself with Soviet and Russian equipment.
Algeria is recognised as one of the leading arms importers globally and the country with the highest defence expenditures in Africa. According to a Bloomberg report, the Algerian budget 2025 plans to allocate a record sum of £19 billion to defence. The Washington Institute highlights that currently, Soviet and Russian military equipment constitutes over 85 percent of the Algerian army's entire military inventory.
Algeria has armed itself from Russia for years
In 2021, Algeria signed a significant arms deal with Russia valued at over £5.3 billion. Current Algerian actions focus on finalising the purchase of Russian fifth-generation Su-57 fighters, which feature stealth technology that makes them less detectable by detection systems.
For many years, Algeria was also a key client of Russia in the naval equipment sector. The country acquired two Russian diesel-electric submarines from the 877 project series and four units from the 636.6 project, which are equipped with Kalibr cruise missile silos.
The systematic acquisition of Soviet and Russian equipment has resulted in the Algerian army possessing over 2,000 tanks, most of which are T-72s in various versions. These are complemented by older T-55 and T-62 tanks and newer T-90 models produced after the dissolution of the USSR.
The Algerian military also used Soviet-era infantry fighting vehicles, armoured personnel carriers (BTR-80 and BTR-60), and newer tank support vehicles (BMPT Terminator), produced from 1995 onwards. Algeria has acquired the 2S1 Gvozdika and 2S3 Akatsiya systems, among other Soviet artillery. 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 economic sanctions from the United States. In 2022, Marco Rubio, a Republican Party senator and then-US Secretary of State, called for such measures.
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 to eliminate Russia as an arms supplier and a key player in North and West Africa.
According to analysts from the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), this military rapprochement between Algeria and the USA indicates that the country is opening up to closer relations with Washington. This move is a response to increasingly strained relations with Russia, with whom Algeria has started to compete for influence in the Sahel.
