Algeria's acquisition of Su-57 "is a revolution on the western flank of the Mediterranean"
Algeria has concluded three contracts for the purchase of Su-57, Su-34 and Su-35 with 14 devices for each model, said the Algerian site Menadefense
https://www.menadefense.net/non-classe-en/algeria-is-the-first-export-client-for-the-russian-su-57-stealth-fighter-and-the-su-34-bomber/. Two Algerian security and defense experts commented to Sputnik on the strategic importance of these new acquisitions.
Algeria to acquire Su-57 stealth fighters from Russia, thus becoming the first customer to whom the manufacturer Sukhoi will export this flagship of 5th generation combat aviation, indicates the Algerian military information site Menadefense . In addition, the media specifies that the Algerian Air Force also signed two other contracts relating to the purchase of bombers of type Su-34, of which it is also the first customer, and aircraft of aerial domination Su-35.
Menadefense indicates that the decision to acquire 14 Su-57s was taken last summer after the visit of an Algerian delegation to the MAKS air show in Moscow. According to him, during this visit, the Algerian delegation led by General Major Hamid Boumaïza, commander of the Air Force, examined in the smallest details the hunter in question. General Boumaïza , a former MiG-29 pilot, was even one of the rare foreigners to try out the Russian stealth plane on a simulator, the same source added, adding that these agreements should be completed in 2025.
In addition, the media indicates that the Algerian Air Force concluded two other contracts relating to the acquisition of 14 long-range bombers Su-34 and 14 aircraft of aerial domination Su-35. Two other optional contracts for the purchase of Su-34 and Su-35 with 14 aircraft each also have been signed with the aim of replacing the planes which will be withdrawn from the Air Force fleet in the coming years , specifies the same source.
In 2025, the Algerian Air Force will be able to deploy two squadrons of Su-30MKA, another of Su-57, one of Su-35 and one of MiG-29M2. It also has in its possession two squadrons of modernized Su-24 and one of Su-34 for the bomber fleet, recalls the media, stressing that the training of pilots will be done with Yak-130.
What strategic impact for its acquisitions?
In an interview with Sputnik, Akram Kharief, security and defense expert and editor-in-chief and editor of the Menadefense site, said that it was "the appearance of F-35 in the Italian fleet that motivated the takeover of rapid decision of Algeria ".
Algeria's acquisition of Su-57 "is a revolution on the western flank of the Mediterranean," he said, adding that "it is the first time that a 5th generation stealth plane will be introduced." in Africa". "It is also unprecedented in the Mediterranean, because in this basin only Israel and Italy have stealth planes, in this case the F-35," he added, adding that "Even France does not have one".
And to add, Mr. Kharief explained that "the strategic importance of the Su-34 lies in the fact that this plane is a long-range bomber capable of carrying out operations thousands of kilometers away, which extends the offensive possibilities of the Algerian Air Force ”. "The Su-34 is also an airplane which is capable of defending itself and which does not need to be accompanied", he said, recalling "that it has proven itself in war in Syria ”.
For his part, the former colonel of the Algerian intelligence services , Abdelhamid Larbi Chérif, explained to Sputnik that "the Mediterranean, in particular its western flank, has always been a strategic space of competition between all the major world powers ". "The insecurity which has taken hold in the Maghreb and the Sahel after the fall in 2011 of the regime of the Libyan guide Mouammar Gaddafi is a source of concern which is taken very seriously by the Algerian civil and military authorities", said - he affirmed, indicating that "this was added to the redeployment of terrorist organizations in the Maghreb and the Sahel after their defeat in Syria and Iraq".
In the same direction, the ex-high ranking pointed out "the emergence of the economic importance of Africa which arouses the lusts of many powers, in particular the ex-colonizers". "To be convinced of this, you only have to see foreign military deployments in Mali, Niger and elsewhere in Africa," he said.
On the basis of this observation, Mr. Larbi Chérif explained that "Algeria which does not participate in any military alliance means by the acquisition of this kind of armaments, like the Su-57, the Su-34 and the defense systems anti-aircraft such as the S-300s, maintain the military balance capable of enabling it to defend its territorial integrity and its vital interests ”. "Because although the American project of the Greater Middle East has failed for the moment, nothing says that it would not return under another name," he concluded.
From :
https://translate.google.fr/translate?hl=fr&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Ffr.sputniknews.com%2Fmaghreb%2F201912271042670860-lacquisition-de-su-57-par-lalgerie-est-une-revolution-sur-le-flanc-ouest-de-la-mediterranee%2F