In what was a new incident following the violation of its airspace, on May 1st, two F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters of the Bolivarian Military Aviation shot down two hostile aircraft in the Pedro Camejo municipality, Apure state. The planes were disabled after surreptitiously entering Venezuelan territory, operating without identification codes, flying at low altitude, and with the transponder turned off, “…violating Venezuelan aerospace control regulations…”.

According to information provided by the Strategic Operational Command of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), both aircraft entered Venezuelan territory at different times and through different routes in an attempt to “…deceive and disguise their movements and intentions…”. Once the illegal entries of the aircraft were detected by the integrated aerospace system radars, the Bolivarian Military Aviation deployed combat means to disable and destroy both hostile aircraft.

The downing of the two planes was based on the presumption that they were being used “…for illicit activities associated with drug trafficking and arms trafficking by transnational organized crime groups…”, detailed the Strategic Operational Command of the FANB. Both aircraft were neutralized as part of Operation Bolivarian Shield 2024, in accordance with the security and defense operational plans established by the Venezuelan government.

On this occasion, the Strategic Operational Command of the FANB shared a sequence showing two columns of smoke and the flight of one of the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters that participated in the operation. Official details were not provided on how both hostile aircraft were disabled, presuming it was done with 20mm M61A1 cannon fire.

It is worth noting that at the end of March this year, an F-16A Fighting Falcon fighter from the 16th Air Combat Group “Dragons” shot down an aircraft declared “hostile” for not having a flight plan or authorization from air traffic institutions to operate in the area. On that occasion, the Bolivarian Military Aviation also released a video taken from the cockpit of an F-16, showing a column of black smoke, presumably originating from the recently disabled aircraft.

After four decades in service, the F-16A/B Fighting Falcons of the Bolivarian Military Aviation are one of the main assets of the Force. Although the operability of the U.S.-origin fighters is not remarkable, it should not be overlooked that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has managed to bypass the veto imposed by the U.S., allowing to maintain a handful of the 24 F-16s originally delivered starting in 1983.

Some rumors even suggest that the availability rate of the veteran F-16s would sometimes be higher than that of the Sukhoi Su-30Mk2. Nevertheless, the F-16s seem to have coincided as the alert system in the recent incidents, accumulating three shootdowns in less than 40 days.

Illustrative cover image. Credits: FAB

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