On May 22 Algeria’s was confirmed to have applied to become a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, allowing the country to gain eligibility for full membership after a period as a dialogue partner and observer. The military bloc founded by China and five Soviet successor states in 2001 has since been joined by Pakistan, India and Iran, and has seen joint military exercises coordinated increasingly closely among members since the late 2010s. Algeria was one of five Arab republics which aligned themselves closely with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and following neighbouring Egypt’s defection to align with the Western Bloc in the 1970s and Western military assaults on Iraq, Libya and Syria, it remains the only fully functional Arab states outside the Western sphere of influence. The country has redoubled investment in its military capabilities, and particularly aerial warfare and air defence capabilities, in the aftermath of a NATO assault on neighbouring Libya in 2011, after Tripoli’s decades of underinvestment in its armed forces had left them at negligible strength compared to their peak power levels in the 1980s.
The Algerian Armed Forces are widely considered to be by far the most capable in Africa and the Arab world, and among Muslim-majority countries are rivalled only by Pakistan and Iran – both existing SCO members. Although a growing portion of the country’s military hardware has come from China, ranging from electronic warfare systems to cruise missiles, it has remained Russia’s second largest defence client behind India. The backbone of its armoured units are comprised of an estimated 700 T-90SA tanks, while the backbone of its combat aviation fleet is formed by 72 Su-30MKA heavyweight fighters, which after being evaluated against the French Rafale in the mid 2000s was favoured for its far more powerful sensor suite, greater endurance and superior flight performance. Other notable equipment in service include a large arsenal of S-300PMU-2 and reportedly S-400 surface to air missile systems, Mi-28 attack helicopters, Iskander-M ballistic missile systems, and TOS-1A thermobaric rocket artillery systems.
The Algerian Armed Forces have frequently conducted major military exercises demonstrating high levels of combat readiness, which has become particularly significant as major U.S.-led military exercises in North Africa have appeared to simulate launching attacks on the country. Algeria has long been a priority client for the latest Russian military equipment, and having been the first to acquire MiG-25 interceptors from the Soviet Union, it acquired Pantsir-SM air defence systems before they had joined the Russian Armed Forces themselves. The country is also reported to be the first client for Russia’s Su-57 fifth generation fighter, with a rise in fossil fuel prices from 2022 reportedly facilitating greater investment in arms acquisitions.