Su-35 in Algeria. Purchase or “borrowers”?

Despite the international sanctions generated by the war in Ukraine, Russia continues to achieve sales of military equipment to third countries with which it maintains strong diplomatic relations and military cooperation. One of these cases is that of Algeria, which, through videos that have gone viral on social networks, would have received the first Sukhoi Su-35S fighter to equip its Air Force. Although there are no official reports of the ope…

In recent years, there have been numerous rumors about Algeria receiving orders for military equipment from Russia. For example, there has been talk of purchasing Su-34 Fullback E tactical bombers, Su-35 Flanker E multirole fighters, and Su-57 Felon E fifth-generation combat aircraft. In 2019, for example,... This article, Has Algeria received Russian Su-35 Flanker E combat aircraft?, first appeared on Zone Militaire.

In just a few hours, a video showing an Algerian Su-35se, and another, showing the use of Chinese assault pontoons, to build an artificial port, appeared on social networks. At the same time, the NATO SACT, Admiral Vandier, announces that 80% of the [...]

As proof of the truth of the report, a video recorded near the Algerian base of Umm al-Bawaki was presented. It shows a single aircraft from the Su-27 family maneuvering. The recording is of relatively poor quality. However, it is clear that the aircraft does not have front control surfaces, which rules out the Su-30MKA - the only aircraft from this family that Algeria has for this port.

According to information published by the Algerian Star Ship account, the Algerian Air Force has begun to receive its first Su-35 Russian heavy fighters, becoming the third world operator of this model after China and Russia, according to the AviacionOnline Military Portal. A video showing the Su-35 Algerians in training flight would have been recorded in the vicinity of the airbase of Oum El Bouaghi. Due to their painting scheme, these aircraft…