Three killed in Algerian military helicopter crash

Frequent crashes have become a dilemma for the Algerian military with three killed in a military helicopter on Feb 7, in an accident that raises questions over the efficiency of maintenance and acquisition choices.

The Russian-made MI-171 aircraft crashed on Wednesday night around 9:00 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) near the airport in the oasis town of El-Meniaa, the defense ministry said in a statement.

All three military personnel on board – a colonel, a lieutenant colonel, and a sergeant – were killed, it added.

Frequent crashes

Algeria boasts the biggest military budget in Africa with an over dependence on Russian weapons, combined with a lack of international experience. The frequent airplane crashes and accidents in the Algerian air force fleet are but a tree that hides a forest of mismanagement and a lack of strategy.

The accident however comes in a series of tragic events caused by military plane crashes. In March 2018, 12 soldiers died in a helicopter crash.

Two months only after a tragic air crush in 2018 of a Russian-built Ilyushin killing 257 soldiers including 26 polisairo members, a C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft overshoot the runway in Biskra’s airport leaving 8 injured.

These accidents indicate that the Algerian military is undergoing a crisis of doctrine. Back in the 1970s, following Algeria’s independence, its military rulers adopted a strategy inspired by their guerrilla warfare against France combined with the Soviet military doctrine emphasizing the importance of land forces, notably tanks and the artillery.

Little attention was paid to air force which are the backbone of modern armies due to its decisiveness in terms of undermining the centre of gravity of opponents before engaging in land warfare.

Analysts see that Algerian air force is much underdeveloped with a low skill pilots lacking battlefield experience compared to its regional rival Morocco, a western ally.