if the government Abdulmecid Tebbun meet the defense spending proposal for next year, army Algeria take a giant step. In an increasingly heated global geopolitical context (from Russia’s war against Ukraine to its own tension with the country’s Moroccan neighbor), Algeria has submitted a budget draft for 2023, in which total military spending will increase by 120%, from 9,300 million to 23,200 million euros. in 2022. 15% of its GDP.
The massive North African nation is stepping into the accelerator in its race to become the most powerful Army in the region, at least in terms of spending, where it has no rivals. The figure will be similar to Israel’s, about four times that Morocco and at least twice that of Spain, according to official data for each country. The details of the defense budget in Algeria are a state secret.
Why this sudden increase? “It is unlikely to be related to the crisis between Morocco or Western Sahara or Spain and Algeria,” assures El Periódico de España of the Prensa Ibérica group. Ekrem Kharief, Algerian military analyst who accessed the secret budget report (for the eyes of lawmakers only). “It probably has more to do with the international context and the war in Ukraine: Algeria has to quickly buy equipment from Russia. It will be done in one year, rather than in five years,” he reassures the expert journalist in the North African region.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune will travel to Moscow before the end of the yearAs explained by the Kremlin. It can be foreseen that Russia, which is and continues to be the main supplier of war materials, training and strategic support, will sign or announce a major arms purchase agreement there.
Algeria and Russia hold joint military exercises in the Mediterranean from Wednesday to Saturday. At least one Russian minesweeper is known to have reached the port of Jijel, about 400 kilometers south of Menorca.
Anti-aircraft batteries and fighters
at least 23.2 billion 8,500 people will be included in the article for the purchase of weaponsAccording to the dump that Kharief has access to.
The Algerian Armed Forces urgently needs to replace the Russian S-300 anti-aircraft batteries, which are more than ten years old. This is the same system commonly used in Ukraine that allows Russia to evade air superiority.
Warriors also need to be modified or upgraded. Algeria has more than 60 of the most modern Russian Sukhoi Su-30 aircraft in its fleet.and there are speculations that the Royal Moroccan Air Force may acquire more than a dozen Su-57s, a much more advanced version that could compete with the F-35s it is trying to acquire from the United States.
Russian Ministry of Defense
The purchase will be controversial. Republican congressmen in the United States take action to impose Sanctions on Algeria for buying Russian weapons. It has already happened in Turkey, which was punished by the suspension of billions of euros in deliveries of US F-35 Lightning II aircraft in 2017 after Ankara bought S-400 anti-aircraft systems from Moscow. Washington has threatened Egypt with retaliation after purchasing Russian Sukhoi S-32 warplanes. The United States scolds those who make defense deals with “axis of evil” countries like Russia, Iran or North Korea.
Are tensions escalating with Morocco?
The fear before this potential major renewal of the Algerian Army is whether it will escalate tensions with Morocco. Swords are usually always high between both regional rivals. Algeria cuts diplomatic relations Morocco in August 2021. He accused Rabat of spying on thousands of phones of its officials and citizens with its Pegasus system, bombing with drones and killing three Saharan civilians and supporting independence groups in Algeria’s Kabiliya region. Algeria supports Rabat’s enemy, the Saharawi Polisario Front.
Sharing a border of approximately 1,800 kilometers, these two countries faced off in an open conflict in the West. Battle of the Sands in 1963. The situation almost exploded again in 2011 after the Moroccan drone bombing of Saharawi demonstrators on the Mauritanian border. Algeria is the 31st strongest Army in the world according to the Global Firepower ranking, while Morocco ranks 56th.
There are signs of hope to de-escalate tensions between the two countries. The King of Morocco announced that he accepted the invitation to attend the Arab Summit in Algeria on 1 November. This is a first look at the months-long rapprochement between the two countries and gives Spanish diplomacy hope to rectify the situation with Tebboune retaliating against Madrid after Pedro Sánchez backed Morocco in its Western Sahara autonomy plan.
“1 to 10, 1 war here and 1 normal diplomatic relations, Tension between Rabat and Algeria will be around five right now,” Kharief tells this newspaper. “There is no quarrel and things have more or less stabilized: both have assured the UN that there will be no war between the two countries.”
move to Mali
Slightly more than 5,000 million of the budget plan for defense is under the heading “Logistics and all-round support”, which may indicate that it will finance forces and operations abroad to project power.
“Perhaps the Algerian Armed Forces Get more involved in Libya or the Sahel”, explains Kharief. “This doesn’t necessarily mean an Algerian military operation, it means logistical support, particularly in Mali and Niger. [que combaten el terrorismo yihadista]for example, groups that are not terrorists and are in agreement with the Government, such as the MNLA. [la junta militar golpista]”.
This issue is particularly sensitive because there are Spanish troops in the area and there is a significant problem of Islamist terrorism so far. Financial It was tried to be brought under control with the support of countries such as France, Spain, Germany or the European Union. The French Army was withdrawn, in part because of the military junta’s agreements with Russian Wagner mercenary groups.
About 9 billion of the Algerian military budget is for current expenditures, which, for example, can be used to quell the protests of l.Army veterans of the Algerian civil war. After the victory of the Islamic Salvation Front in the 1990 local elections, the Army canceled the presidential elections, which would be held two years later. An internal conflict ensued that claimed the lives of at least 200,000 Algerians. The issue of protecting those affected by those years has been on the government’s table for years. Tebboune may want to appease him with billions of euros now.