Algerian Su-30MKA Fighters Launch Anti-Radiation Cruise Missiles to Train for Air Defence Suppression ‘Wild Weasel’ Missions

On June 21 footage released by Algerian broadcasters showed Su-30MKA heavyweight fighters from the country’s air force training for air defence suppression missions and deploying Kh-31P cruise missiles against simulated radiation emitting targets. This comes at a time of high tensions with both Spain and Morocco, and follows exercises in the region led by the United States in 2021 which were widely seen to be simulating attacks on Algerian targets. The Algerian Air Force is considered the most capable and by far the best funded in Africa, and the Su-30MKA forms the backbone of its fleet with an estimated 60 in service set to reach over 70 once outstanding orders are fulfilled. A variant of the Su-30 developed to integrate technologies from the cancelled Su-37 air superiority fighter, the aircraft benefits from a very high endurance placing targets across much of Europe well within range. Able to operate at very high altitudes above the Armstrong Limit, carrying one of the largest radars of any fighter in the world, and benefitting from levels of manoeuvrability with few rivals, the Russian built aircraft is considered well suited to guarding the airspace of Africa’s largest country and was selected over a competing over from France to provide lighter and much shorter ranged Rafale jets. With the Egyptian Air Force having yet to take delivery of Su-35S fighters ordered from Russia, the Su-30MKA is still generally considered the most capable fighter in Africa. 

The Algerian Air Force is the only export client for the Su-30 other than India and China to deploy Kh-31 missiles, and alongside the Kh-31P also deploys the Kh-31A anti shipping variant which provide fighter units with a versatile range of standoff weapons. The missiles are prized for their high speeds exceeding Mach 3, with anti radiation variants having ranges estimated at 110-130km and Su-30s thought to be able to carry four to six per airframe. The anti radiation missiles home in on radar emissions by enemy radars and air defence systems to strike with high precision, and carry warheads weighting close to 90kg. The country also fields much shorter ranged Kh-25MP anti radiation missiles, which may be intended to be employed after more formidable and longer ranged air defence assets have been neutralised. The Algerian arsenal of anti surface missiles has a similarly high standing among African and Arab air forces, and includes the Kh-59ME for which the country has been the only foreign client other than India and China. Effective use of standoff missiles is expected to partly compensate for the Algerian Air Force’s small size compared to the combined forces of its potential adversaries, with the NATO assault on neighbouring Libya in 2011 raising concerns that the country may become a target in future. Both Morocco and Spain are notably operators of the most advanced Western surface based anti aircraft missile system the Patriot, which could be a primary target for Kh-31P strikes in the event of war.