Venezuela’s Combat Aircraft in numbers available for Battle

In recent weeks, the world, especially South America, has been observing developments on the border between Venezuela and Guyana.

The country led by Nicolás Maduro – who has held the position of president for more than 10 years – held a plebiscite yesterday (03), where the population would choose the annexation of the Essequibo region, which comprises around 70% of Guyanese territory.

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The result of the vote was released yesterday and, despite many doubts, 95,9% of the population was favorable to the creation of a new Venezuelan province, called Guyana Esequiba.

The territory has been claimed by Venezuela since 1841, but Essequibo became even more important with the discovery of huge oil reserves in the region.

The possibility of a military operation or even a war between Guyana and Venezuela has brought about several debates on various platforms, especially around the capabilities of the Venezuelan Armed Forces.

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In this article, we will see how many and which combat aircraft are used by the Venezuelan Air Force, as well as the Venezuelan Army as well.

               General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon

In other times, the United States and Venezuela had a much more friendly relationship. So friendly that in 1982, the Venezuelan Air Force (Aviación Militar Bolivariana – AMB) became the first Latin American country to acquire the F-16.

Under the Peace Delta program, the country purchased 18 F-16A and 6 two-seat F-16B. At the time, they were the most advanced fighters on the continent, far surpassing the other South American air forces.

However, the F-16s were of the Block 15 OCU version and the embargoes that came later prevented Venezuela from carrying out major upgrades to the jets, as carried out by other Viper operators.

Today there are 15 F-16’s left in activity, operated by Grupo Aéreo de Caza No. 16 from El Libertador Air Base.

                                Sukhoi Su-30 MKV Flanker-C 

One of the main variants of the Russian Su-27, the Su-30MKV reached the AMB ranks in 2006, when then president Hugo Chávez, already much closer to Russia, signed the purchase of 24 aircraft.

With the introduction of the Su-30 – an aircraft that still generates controversial discussions today – the AMB was once again at the forefront of combat aviation on the continent.

Typically recognized for characteristics such as high speed, long range and large payload capacity (bombs, missiles, etc.), there is also a lot of talk about Russia’s support for Venezuela’s Su-30s:

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Some claim that at least part of the fleet It remained on the floor due to lack of maintenance, others doubt it. It is difficult to know the real conditions of the Caracas Flankers, largely due to the country’s political and social conditions.

In any case, of the 24 planes acquired, three were lost in accidents, remaining 21 Su-30MKV fighters in operation.

Like the F-16s, the Su-30s also have the El Libertador base as their headquarters, where they are maintained and flown by Grupo Aéreo de Caza No. 11.

                             Hongdu K-8 Karakorum

To replace its aging fleet of VF-5 Freedom Fighters and OV-10 Bronco turboprops, Venezuela purchased 26 K-8W Karakorum trainer jets from China in two batches.

Although they are originally more focused on flight instruction, the K-8s can also be equipped with ground attack weapons.

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The small jets were distributed among units of the Grupo Aéreo de Operaciones Especiales N.º 15, at the Rafael Urdaneta Air Base, and the Caza Aéreo Group N.º 12, at the Vicente Landaeta Gil Air Base, where they are used in air support missions. and against drug trafficking.

Since the beginning of operation in 2009, Chinese K-8s have accumulated a series of accidents, the last of which was recorded in June 2022, leaving two pilots injured.

Today Venezuela has 22 of these armed Chinese trainers.

                                               Mi-35

The Bolivarian Army has several helicopters in its aviation fleet, but the “apple of its eye” is the Russian Mil Mi-35M Hind-F. In total, 10 of these attack helicopters were acquired in 2005 in a contract that also included Mi-17 and Mi-26 helicopters.

Delivered between 2006 and 2008, Venezuela’s Hinds are the Mi-35M2 Caribe version, with improvements in weapons and self-defense systems, as well as updates carried out locally in 2017.

In addition to the 23 mm cannon installed in the nose, the Mi-35 can use unguided rockets and 9M120 Ataka-V anti-tank missiles.

Of the 10 helicopters purchased, nine are still in operation. A Mi-35 was lost in a fatal crash in February 2019.

                                            Other aircraft

Although the planes and helicopters mentioned above are the main vectors of Venezuela’s combat aviation, the Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana (FANB) counts several other aircraft in the country’s air force, navy and army.

AMB has a Boeing 707 modified to be a tanker (KC-707), although the exact condition of this veteran jet is not known.

When talking about heavy tactical transport, Venezuela has three C-130H Hercules and eight Shaanxi Y-8, a Chinese version of the Soviet Antonov AN-12. The two models are used by Grupo Aéreo de Transporte No. 6, another unit in El Libertador.

The transport fleet is complemented by other smaller aircraft such as the Shorts 360, Cessna Caravan, Dronier 228 and the popular Beechcraft King Air.

In the case of helicopters, the variety is also great. The largest are three huge Mi-26 Halo, the largest helicopter produced in the world. But just like the 707 (and many other Venezuelan aircraft), it is not possible to know the real conditions of this fleet.

The most numerous models are the Russian Mi-17, the North American Bell 412 and the French Aerospatiale (current Airbus) AS532 Cougar.

On the other hand, one cannot ignore another highlight of the FANB: its anti-aircraft missiles. Venezuela has a series of short, medium and long-range air defense systems.

The most imposing is the S-300VM, capable of engaging aircraft at around 250 km with its 9M82M missiles. The army has three batteries of this system.

The medium-range Buk M2 complements the S-300, also with three batteries.

The older S125 is even more numerous, with around 20 batteries in use. However, shoulder missiles such as Igla and RBS-70 are much more present, although short-range.

ABC Flash Point News 2025.