Venezuela threatens US Navy with Su-30MK2 jets armed with Kh-31 ship-killer missiles.

On September 18, 2025, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino confirmed Venezuela deployed Su-30MK2 fighter jets armed with Kh-31 anti-ship missiles during the “Sovereign Caribbean 200” exercise on La Orchila island. The Russian-made jets were highlighted as Venezuela’s strongest strike capability, aimed at countering U.S. naval forces in the southern Caribbean.

Venezuelan forces showcased Su-30MK2 fighters carrying Kh-31 supersonic anti-ship missiles during the “Sovereign Caribbean 200” drills on La Orchila island, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino announced on September 18, 2025. The Russian-built aircraft served as the centerpiece of the exercise, which combined air, sea, and land elements with more than 2,500 personnel, 12 naval ships, 22 aircraft, and 20 boats, underscoring Caracas’s effort to project deterrence against U.S. naval deployments in the region.
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Venezuela’s Su-30MK2s armed with Kh-31 anti-ship missiles could provide Caracas with a credible standoff threat that can complicate naval operations in the near seas but does not by itself guarantee success against modern U.S. surface and air assets. (Picture source: Venezuela Air Force and X/ww3mediaa)

The drills were conducted as a direct response to a U.S. naval buildup in the southern Caribbean, which Washington described as part of a counter-narcotics campaign. The United States deployed three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the cruiser USS Lake Erie, the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, and a nuclear-powered submarine, in addition to F-35 fighters and MQ-9 drones based in Puerto Rico. While U.S. officials framed these actions as aimed at narcotics interdiction, Caracas insisted they were intended to pressure Venezuela and framed the exercise as a sovereign response. Venezuelan media emphasized that the show of force was not limited to troop deployments but was also designed to demonstrate integrated command of naval and air assets in a contested environment.

The timing of the exercise coincided with a series of U.S. strikes on vessels that Washington claimed were involved in narcotics trafficking, incidents that caused fatalities and heightened tensions. On 2 September, U.S. forces attacked a boat allegedly tied to the Tren de Aragua gang, resulting in 11 deaths. Additional strikes in mid-September killed several more people, which Caracas denounced as violations of its sovereignty. U.S. President Donald Trump also warned that Venezuelan aircraft approaching American warships in what was considered a threatening manner could be shot down. These warnings, paired with Venezuelan claims of regime-change intentions by Washington, established the environment in which Caracas chose to highlight Su-30MK2 fighters armed with Kh-31 missiles as part of its deterrence posture.

The Su-30MK2 was developed as a refinement of the Su-30MKK, which itself was a derivative of the Su-27 Flanker family tailored for Chinese requirements in the late 1990s. The Su-30MKK had been designed to provide a heavy multirole fighter with long range, a large payload, and compatibility with precision-guided munitions, in line with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s emphasis on strike capability and extended reach. The Su-30MK2 incorporated modifications aimed at maritime strike, with updated avionics and weapon control systems that allowed employment of anti-ship missiles such as the Kh-31A. Production was handled at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant (KnAAPO), where the aircraft was manufactured for several export customers, including Venezuela, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Derived from the Su-27 Flanker design, the Su-30MK2 is a twin-engine, two-seat multirole fighter aircraft optimized for both air-to-air and maritime strike operations. It is powered by two Saturn AL-31F afterburning turbofan engines, giving the aircraft a maximum speed of around Mach 2 at altitude and a service ceiling of 17,300 meters. Its operational combat radius is approximately 3,000 kilometers without refueling, and this can be extended through aerial refueling systems integrated into the platform. The Su-30MK2’s airframe allows a maximum takeoff weight of about 34,500 kilograms, with twelve hardpoints capable of carrying up to 8,000 kilograms of ordnance. The aircraft is equipped with upgraded avionics compared to earlier Flanker derivatives, including a phased-array radar adapted for simultaneous air-to-air and air-to-surface roles, as well as systems enabling the employment of precision-guided munitions. These capabilities make it suitable for air superiority missions, long-range strike, and maritime patrol tasks within the operational doctrine of its operators.

The Su-30MK2 fighters operated by Venezuela were procured from Russia between 2007 and 2008 after the U.S. imposed an embargo on arms and spare parts for the country’s F-16 fleet. Sources indicate that Caracas originally acquired around 24 of these aircraft, though some were later lost in accidents or placed into storage due to maintenance issues, leaving approximately 21 in the current inventory. The aircraft are flown by Grupo Aéreo de Caza No. 11 of the Bolivarian Military Aviation and are regarded as the core of Venezuela’s modern combat fleet. The operational status of Venezuela’s Su-30MK2 fleet remains a subject of analysis, with sources suggesting that at least five aircraft are currently in storage. Non-governmental organizations have pointed to problems such as aging systems, difficulties in securing spare parts, and insufficient maintenance resources as recurring challenges. Despite these issues, Caracas continues to deploy its Su-30MK2 fighters in exercises and public demonstrations, reflecting their importance in the country’s deterrence posture, as the Su-30MK2 supports a wide range of loadouts, including air-to-air missiles, guided bombs, and anti-ship missiles such as the Kh-31. Its avionics and weapons control systems have been adapted to accommodate maritime strike roles, making it suitable for anti-ship operations in the Caribbean scenario. These features allow the platform to operate flexibly, from defensive air patrols to offensive standoff strikes against surface vessels.

The Kh-31 missile, seen under the wings of Venezuelan Su-30MK2 fighters during the drills, was developed in the Soviet Union during the late 1970s as part of efforts to create a new family of supersonic air-to-surface missiles capable of countering both maritime and air defense threats. The Kh-31, known by NATO as the AS-17 Krypton, was one of the first air-launched missiles to utilize a ramjet propulsion system, combining a solid rocket booster for initial acceleration with a kerosene-fueled ramjet sustainer to achieve and maintain speeds in excess of Mach 3. The missile entered service in the late 1980s in two primary forms: the Kh-31A, designed for anti-ship roles, and the Kh-31P, intended for anti-radiation missions against radar and surface-to-air missile sites. Over time, the series expanded with variants such as the Kh-31PD that offered extended range and more advanced seeker heads to increase effectiveness against modern defenses. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kh-31 was offered for export and integrated onto platforms including the Su-30MKI of the Indian Air Force and the Su-30MKA of the Algerian Air Force.

The missile has a cylindrical fuselage with cropped-delta wings and air intakes for the ramjet engine, with a length of about 4.7 meters and a launch weight of roughly 600 kilograms, depending on the variant. Its propulsion system consists of a solid rocket booster for initial acceleration, which is then discarded, and a kerosene-fueled ramjet sustainer that maintains speeds of 3,300 to 4,300 kilometers per hour. The Kh-31A anti-ship version has an effective range of 70 to 110 kilometers and carries a high-explosive warhead of around 94 to 100 kilograms, while the Kh-31P and Kh-31PD anti-radiation variants extend the range up to 250 kilometers with an 87-kilogram warhead. Guidance systems vary, with the anti-ship missile employing an active radar seeker for terminal homing, while the anti-radiation missile uses a passive seeker to lock onto radar emissions. For Venezuela, these specifications make the Kh-31 suitable for use against surface combatants in the frigate or destroyer class, or for the suppression of air defense radars in contested environments.

These missiles were delivered to Venezuela from Russia between 2007 and 2008, complementing the introduction of the Su-30MK2. Open-source analysis confirms that both anti-ship and anti-radar variants are present in the Venezuelan inventory, providing a standoff strike capability that could threaten surface combatants or disable radar networks. Other operators of the Kh-31 integrated onto Su-30 variants include Russia, India, Algeria, and China, with the missile used in both training and combat in recent years. By highlighting the Su-30MK2/Kh-31 combination during “Sovereign Caribbean 200,” Venezuela sought to project the capacity to contest naval forces in its near seas while reinforcing its alignment with Russian-supplied technology and doctrine. The pairing remains the central element of Venezuela’s current ability to signal strike potential in maritime scenarios.

Against current U.S. force packages in the southern Caribbean, however, the Su-30MK2/Kh-31 pairing faces a layered and networked defense that includes Aegis escorts with VLS interceptors, ESSM/SM family weapons, electronic warfare, and point-defence systems such as CIWS, all of which substantially complicate the threshold for a successful penetration by single or small numbers of Kh-31s. Effective employment against such formations would therefore require favorable tactical conditions for Venezuela, for example, surprise, coordinated salvos from multiple launch platforms, and efforts to suppress or saturate defensive sensors and shooters, rather than isolated single-launch attacks. Forward U.S. air and ISR assets, including F-35 squadrons and persistent drones operating from Puerto Rico, increase detection and targeting risks for Venezuelan Su-30s and their missile stocks, reducing the window in which Caracas could safely generate effective strikes.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.