What Su-34M Strike Fighters Can Do For the Algerian Air Force? Local Media Reports First Order Has Been Placed

A number of Algerian media outlets have reported that the country will receive a squadron of 14 Su-34 strike fighters from Russia, with deliveries expected to be completed before the end of 2023. This follows orders for 14 each of the MiG-29M medium weight fighter and Su-30MKA multirole heavyweight fighter which were reportedly placed in 2020 - the first of which have already begun deliveries. While the MiG-29M and Su-30MKA jets were acquired to replace squadrons of older MiG-29C fighters in service, the Su-34 is expected to replace a unit of Algeria’s older Su-24M dedicated strike aircraft. The Algerian Air Force is currently the world’s largest foreign operator of the Su-24M with an estimated 36 in service, and while the aircraft was considered the prime strike platform of the Cold War era it has increasingly been phased out of front line roles in the Russian Air Force since its successor the Su-34 began to enter service from 2014. 

The Su-34 is currently the heaviest combat aircraft in production in Russia other than the Tu-160 intercontinental range strategic bomber. Other than bombers and the Russian MiG-31 Foxhound heavy interceptor, it is the largest combat jet in service anywhere in the world today at around 40,500kg with a standard weapons loadout. A new variant of the aircraft, the Su-34M, was first ordered by the Russian Air Force in May 2020 and benefits from with a dedicated interface for three different types of sensors for improved situational awareness, as well as an improved air to air combat performance. It is likely based on prior trends in Algerian acquisitions that aircraft delivered to the African state will benefit from the new technologies integrated onto the Su-34M variant. The Su-34 has been extensively combat tested in Syria for operations against a range of Islamist insurgent groups since 2015, and is prized for its very high precision, its long range, its powerful sensors and the very wide range of armaments it can deploy. 

Repots of Algerian interest in the Su-34 have surfaced since the early 2010s before the aircraft even joined the Russian Air Force, and as Russia’s second largest defence client and the only major operator of the Su-24M it was long considered the most likely client for the aircraft. The Su-34 has considerably lower manufacturing costs than its cousin which entered service in the same year the Su-35 - an aircraft specialised in air to air combat which has also been combat tested in Syria. The Su-34’s strike capabilities, however, are overwhelmingly superior with the aircraft optimised for very high endurance missions allowing it to strike targets across most of the world from bases in Russia. The performance of the aircraft in Algerian service will likely depend heavily on the kinds of armaments purchased for them, with the longest ranged missile the Kh-101 unlikely to be sold to Algeria and having an estimated engagement range of over 3,500km. 

Unlike the Su-24M, the Su-35 is capable of effectively deploying both long and short range active radar guided air to air missiles such as the R-27 and R-77 - making it much less heavily reliant on fighter escorts than its predecessor was. With the Su-34 and Su-30 both using variants of the same AL-31 engine and many of the same armaments, and with their airframes having multiple similarities, the logistical burden of inducting the new aircraft into service is expected to be modest. Algeria has been speculated by a number of analysts to also be planning to purchase heavyweight air superiority fighters to replace its MiG-25 Foxbat interceptors, and has shown strong signs of planning to purchase the Su-57 next generation fighter with such a deal potentially having been made already. While the Algerian Air Force has long been considered the most capable in Africa, the unexpected Western attack on its neighbour Libya in 2011 is thought to have led it to invest more heavily in its aerial warfare capabilities which has widened the margin between it and other services on the continent.