Most of the time on this channel, we focus on military developments in Europe or Asia. but the global surge in military spending since 2022 is also playing out in Africa. There, Algeria deserves particular mention, more than doubling expenditure since 2021 to cement it's place (by no small margin) as Africa's most expensive military and one of the most important remaining customers for Russian arms exports. By some estimates, In 2025, Algeria may end up dedicating more of its budget to the military during peacetime, than Russia is during wartime - with reported procurement plans stretching all the way to Russian 5th generation fighters. It's a move that is driving massive fiscal deficits and which raises massive questions, especially in the context of Algeria's comparatively opaque approach to military procurement: What is Algiers planning to spend the money on? Why now? How will the region respond and can the Algerian economy sustain the effort? So, for the first time for a nati