Algeria Deploys Fighter Jets to Niger After Coup Attempt

Algeria has deployed Su-30MKA fighter jets to Niger for the first time as a combat-aircraft mission abroad since 1973, landing at Air Base 101 on 30 August 2026. The four Su-30MKA jets were accompanied by an Il-78 tanker and an Il-76 transport, according to the Algerian Defense Ministry and reporting cited by the article. The ministry says the deployment follows a request from Niger and instructions by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, framing the operation as bilateral strategic cooperation. Analysts cited by Le Monde and TV5 Monde describe it as a historic shift in a long-standing policy of avoiding foreign combat deployments. The move comes a day after Niger’s failed coup attempt ended, when Russia’s Africa Corps was credited with decisive support.