Venezuela May Order 12 Russian Sukhoi Su-30 Jets

  • Our Bureau
  • 12:48 PM, September 21, 2015
  • 2946
Venezuela May Order 12 Russian Sukhoi Su-30 Jets
Venezula President Nicholas Maduro

Venezuela plans to order 12 new Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets to bolster its air force, President Nicolas Maduro said Sunday.

"I will talk to [Russian] President Vladimir Putin to deliver at least 12 new [Sukhoi] Su [fighter jets] to Venezuela and replace the one lost [on Friday]," Maduro said as quoted by the Noticias24 news website.

A Venezuelan Su-30 jet crashed over the weekend in a region near the border with Colombia while on a mission to intercept an unauthorized aircraft entering the country’s air space. No further details are available of the crash.

Venezuela has 24 Su-30MKV aircraft before the crash and 12 F-16s. A recent increase of tensions with Columbia and an increase of drug cartel flights is said to be increasing pressure on the country’s air force to fly surveillance and intercept missions.

 

FEATURES/INTERVIEWS