By far the largest defence spender in Africa, Algeria has been a leading client for Russia and increasingly for Chinese arms in an attempt to modernise its armed forces. With a number of reports indicating that the country has acquired advanced anti access area denial systems to protect its airspace, including placing orders for both the Russian S-400 and the Chinese HQ-9B, the country has recently sought to increase its coastal defence capabilities by investing in some of the world’s quietest submarines, the Russian Kilo Class, and more recently in highly capable anti ship missiles. Developed with similar if slightly superior capabilities to the Russian-Indian Brahmos, the CX-1 cruise missile retains a 280km range and can impact enemy warships with precision at speeds of Mach 3. The missile makes use of a two stage booster and travels on a low-high-low trajectory - descending to an altitude of 10 meters above sea level when 10 kilometres away from its target. Impacting at such a low altitude makes the missile far harder to detect or to intercept. The missile’s speed of Mach 3 is more than sufficient to tear a large enemy warship in half with the sheer force of its impact, which combined with its 260kg warhead can disable if not sink almost any surface vessel with a single strike. The induction of the CX-1 into Algerian service is a game changer for its coastal defence capabilities which will complement the considerable investments already made in air defence. With Algiers having witnessed the fate of neighbouring Libya in 2011, North Africa’s other resource rich former Soviet client and Russian-Chinese ally, which failed to arm itself adequately and as a result was devastated by a Western attack, the country has prioritised the acquisition of cutting edge asymmetric weapons systems to protect its air and sea space and thereby deter a potential Western attack. As some of the most advanced Western made air defences have recently demonstrated, even pre Vietnam War era subsonic missile designs can often prove too much to handle - and the capabilities of the CX-1 and its high survivability against enemy air defences thus allow it to pose a lethal threat to hostile warships far from Algeria’s coasts. The missile’s range allows it to target hostile warships far into the Mediterranean, giving Algeria the ability to close off the Strait of Gibraltar and the passage between Sardinia and Africa and seriously disrupt trade and undermining any Western war effort against the country. With capabilities surpassing the Brahmos or the Russian P-800, the CX-1 is set to become a popular export worldwide which could very well outcompete rival platforms. The missile is likely to remain in Algerian service for several decades, and acquisitions of more capable anti access area denial systems, both maritime and otherwise, remain likely in future. The sale of the CX-1 demonstrates China’s fast improving position as a leading global arms exporter - one threatening to challenge both Russian and Western sales in their traditional spheres of influence. Algeria’s choice of the CX-1 over the Russia P-800 represents just one example of this, though whether this trend will continue and Chinese arms exports to the African state will grow at the expense of Russian ones remains to be seen. As by far the most modern and sophisticated military force in Africa, with a sizeable defence budget greater than that of any two other African states combined, Algeria for its part is set to continue to strengthen its defences for years to come.