Beriev 200 water-bomber
The scandal of Algeria’s ineptness at fighting forest fires and its failure to purchase its own fleet of water bombers simply will not go away. The latest chapter in this sorry saga is that the regime has had to admit, because of its own short-sightedness and ideological prejudices, that it will not have its own fleet of water-bombers on hand for this summer’s forest fire season.
The reason for this chaotic state of affairs goes back to the disastrous forest fires of 2021 when the regime realised that it would finally have to invest in its own fleet of water bombers. However, Army Chief of Staff, General Saïd Chengriha’s pro-Russian military, always in a rush to do more business with Moscow, jumped the gun and took matters into its own hands and ordered four aircraft from Russia’s Beriev Aircraft Company — capable of carrying 12,000 litres of water scooped up from the sea — for US$240 million.
Amongst several alternative options, the Beriev 200 had certain attributes but also faced questions of reliability. Nevertheless, in August 2021, in an atmosphere of total opacity and suspected corruption, the Defence Ministry rushed to place its order for the Beriev 200s. Needless to say, Russia has been unable to deliver the planes because of its war in Ukraine.
Faced with the perilous threat of a disastrous summer heatwave in the next few weeks, the government has been forced to wet-lease six Chilean firefighting planes and their crews. They are expected to arrive on 15 June. As with the original Russian order, this lease deal, in typically Algerian fashion, lacks transparency and smells of corruption.
If the ongoing conflict between Abdelmajid Tebboune and Chengriha becomes more heated over the next few months, the president will no doubt remind Chengriha that it was his pro-Russian lobby in the Defence Ministry that was responsible for failing the country.
This excerpt is taken from Algeria Focus, our monthly intelligence report on Algeria. Click here to receive a free sample copy.The May 2023 issues of Algeria Focus also includes the following:
Commentary
- Chengriha on the block: Where will regime infighting lead?
Politics
- Where did the generals go?
- The Saïd Bouteflika case
- Good for the regime, bad for the press
Foreign Affairs
- Rocky start for Attaf
Security
- Algerian exiles less safe in France?
- Another water-bomber scandal
- Algiers air safety
- Buying Russian military satellites
Economy & Business
- State companies squander public money
- Air Algérie to acquire new aircraft
- IMC under investigation
- Higher education salary review
- Sonelgaz and Sonatrach scandals
