The MENA (Middle East - North Africa) Defense website has revealed that Algeria has agreed a deal with China for the purchase of about six high-precision attack drones of the "CH-5" type.
A site specializing in military affairs said that these drones were added to the "CH3" drones that entered service in Algeria at the end of last year, and that China had pledged to supply all of Algeria's quantities ordered by drones, by the end of the current year.
To date, China has sold a number of patrol UAVs to Algeria, including five CH-3s and five CH-4s in 2018.
By the end of 2022, "the Algerian army will have a fleet of 60 different types of drones," DefenseUA says.
This order, and the one to be sent before the end of the year, comes just months after it was announced that Morocco, Algeria's traditional rival, bordering it to the west, had received, at the end of last September, the first invitation. Turkish assault drone group, "Bayraktar TB2".
This deal was preceded by talk of Israeli-Moroccan cooperation in the production of suicide drones, also known as "wandering armaments."
Relations between the two neighbors have been strained for decades due to the issue of Western Sahara.
Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony, Morocco took over most of its lands after the departure of colonialism, which led to the outbreak of an armed conflict with the "Popular Front for the Liberation of Segui al-Hamra and Odeh" supported by Algiers "(Polisario), which lasted until 1991.
The normalization of the kingdom in its relations with Israel further exacerbated the situation with Algeria, which saw the rapprochement between its neighbor and Israel as a threat to it.
During the first visit of Israeli Defense Minister Bnei Gantz to Morocco last November, Algerian National Assembly Speaker Salah Gujil said his country was the "target" of the visit, especially since Sharvat signed an agreement on security cooperation with Israel. .
The new agreement will allow Israelis to manufacture mass skimmers in Morocco - Israeli-Moroccan cooperation in the production of "Kamikaze"
The restoration of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel has led the latter to allow Rabat to develop suicide drones on its soil.
Analysts believe Algeria is seeking to "overcome its internal problems by broadcasting a discourse of national unity, by announcing arms purchase deals to ward off an external threat."
On the fringes of strained relations for years, an undeclared arms race has sprung up between Algeria and Morocco, which is confirmed by the deals they both make with countries that manufacture military equipment, especially unmanned fighter jets, observers say.
At the end of August 2021, Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco, accusing it of "hostilities", while the kingdom expressed regret over the decision and "rejected its false justifications".