SU30SM2 down in Venezuela, one crewmember sadly killed
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hanging off the end of a thread
Posts: 33,449
Received 3,192 Likes
on
1,339 Posts
SU30SM2 down in Venezuela, one crewmember sadly killed
“I regret to inform you that during the practice maneuvers… an aircraft of our Bolivarian Military Aviation fell to the ground, causing the physical loss of the distinguished pilot Col. Paulino Jose Millan Sabino,” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro wrote on Twitter. Both the aircraft crew members managed to eject, but one of the pilots died after hitting the ground.
The Su-30MK2 aircraft was one of the 24 air superiority fighter jets that Venezuela under President Hugo Chavez had purchased from Russia. President Chavez had undertaken a series of military modernization as the oil prices helped the rentier economy of the country.
Also, the lack of Western economic sanctions was helpful. Venezuela has been an important ally of Russia, Iran, China, and Turkey. It signed a series of defense agreements with Russia between 1999-2013.
Chavez had acquired the 24 Sukhois to replace the country’s French Dassault Mirages. In September 2015, the two crew members of a Sukhoi-30 were killed when the aircraft crashed while trying to intercept an “illegal aircraft” in the southeastern state of Apure, on the border with Colombia.
The Su-30MK2 aircraft was one of the 24 air superiority fighter jets that Venezuela under President Hugo Chavez had purchased from Russia. President Chavez had undertaken a series of military modernization as the oil prices helped the rentier economy of the country.
Also, the lack of Western economic sanctions was helpful. Venezuela has been an important ally of Russia, Iran, China, and Turkey. It signed a series of defense agreements with Russia between 1999-2013.
Chavez had acquired the 24 Sukhois to replace the country’s French Dassault Mirages. In September 2015, the two crew members of a Sukhoi-30 were killed when the aircraft crashed while trying to intercept an “illegal aircraft” in the southeastern state of Apure, on the border with Colombia.
