Venezuelan Su-30MK2 jets drop bombs in drill seen as signal to U.S presence in the Caribbean
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Venezuelan Su-30 fighters carried out a bomb-release exercise over the Caribbean, captured in footage posted online on October 7. The timing coincides with increased U.S. naval activity in the region, heightening attention to Venezuela’s military signaling.
A video posted on the social platform X on October 7, 2025, shows a Venezuelan Air Force Su-30MK2 releasing two unguided munitions identified by observers as likely M-54 series bombs during a training sortie. The short clip captures a low-to-medium altitude release and the characteristic twin blossoms of impact, a reminder that Caracas still fields a heavy strike platform with conventional bomb-delivery skills. The timing is notable, coming amid a flurry of U.S.–Venezuela friction and Venezuelan force demonstrations in the southern Caribbean.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
A Venezuelan Air Force Su-30MK2 multirole fighter releases two unguided bombs, likely M-54 series, during a low-altitude training exercise, showcasing the aircraft’s conventional strike capabilities amid rising regional tensions (Picture source: Captures from the video).
The Su-30MK2 is the Venezuelan Air Force’s heaviest multirole fighter, a twin-engine Flanker derivative optimized for maritime strike and deep interdiction. Powered by two AL-31F turbofans, it carries up to 8,000 kilograms of weapons on 12 hardpoints and typically uses the N001VEP fire-control radar, which adds sea-search modes and supports anti-ship missiles like the Kh-31A as well as the Kh-31P anti-radiation variant. Venezuela originally took delivery of two dozen Su-30MK2s and has showcased them repeatedly as the centerpiece of its deterrent posture.
If the bombs in the video are indeed M-54 pattern, they most closely align with the Soviet-designed FAB-250 M-54, a 250-kilogram general-purpose bomb with roughly 100 kilograms of high explosive. The M-54 family is recognizable by the nose ring used for ballistic stabilization and dates to the mid-1950s, preceding the later low-drag M-62 that is more common for external carriage on fighters. In training, crews typically practice level or shallow-dive releases using CCIP or CCRP modes to build accuracy and fuse-setting familiarity for targets such as airfields, depots, coastal sites, and troop concentrations.
A Su-30MK2 delivering paired 250-kilogram bombs signals retained proficiency in unguided strike, a skill with operational relevance in Venezuela’s likely scenarios. Against surface forces or shore installations within the Caribbean littorals, 250-kilogram HE bombs deliver reliable runway cratering and area-denial effects at modest cost, while minimizing logistic strain compared with larger ordnance. When paired with the MK2’s radar, optical sighting, and navigation suite, Venezuelan crews can generate quick-reaction fires from dispersed bases or road-runway segments to service time-sensitive targets, then recover under fighter escort. In a maritime context, unguided bombs are less efficient than stand-off missiles but remain useful for secondary strikes on immobilized craft, fuel farms, or air-defense nodes supporting a coastal defense fight.
The training clip lands as Washington and Caracas trade signals and counter-signals. In recent days, U.S. forces struck a vessel alleged to be tied to drug trafficking in international waters near Venezuela, while senior U.S. officials hardened their line on engagement with the Maduro government. Caracas has amplified its own military messaging, highlighting Sukhoi flights and special exercises after denouncing U.S. operations in the region. The result is a tense operating picture in the southern Caribbean, where Venezuelan Su-30MK2s, U.S. naval and Marine aviation, and regional partners are flying within the same strategic theater.
This exercise sends two messages. First, the Su-30MK2 remains the Venezuelan Air Force’s most credible strike asset, combining long legs, a heavy warload, and a sensor suite tailored for sea control and interdiction. Second, the apparent choice of M-54-type unguided bombs underscores a training emphasis on baseline bomb-delivery competence that supports a spectrum of missions from border security to coastal denial, while conserving scarce precision munitions. In the shadow of persistent U.S.–Venezuela tensions and the wider Essequibo dispute that sharpened in 2023–2024, even short clips like this one are part of a broader deterrence conversation taking place above some of the most contested waters in the hemisphere.
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Venezuelan Su-30 fighters carried out a bomb-release exercise over the Caribbean, captured in footage posted online on October 7. The timing coincides with increased U.S. naval activity in the region, heightening attention to Venezuela’s military signaling.
A video posted on the social platform X on October 7, 2025, shows a Venezuelan Air Force Su-30MK2 releasing two unguided munitions identified by observers as likely M-54 series bombs during a training sortie. The short clip captures a low-to-medium altitude release and the characteristic twin blossoms of impact, a reminder that Caracas still fields a heavy strike platform with conventional bomb-delivery skills. The timing is notable, coming amid a flurry of U.S.–Venezuela friction and Venezuelan force demonstrations in the southern Caribbean.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
A Venezuelan Air Force Su-30MK2 multirole fighter releases two unguided bombs, likely M-54 series, during a low-altitude training exercise, showcasing the aircraft’s conventional strike capabilities amid rising regional tensions (Picture source: Captures from the video).
The Su-30MK2 is the Venezuelan Air Force’s heaviest multirole fighter, a twin-engine Flanker derivative optimized for maritime strike and deep interdiction. Powered by two AL-31F turbofans, it carries up to 8,000 kilograms of weapons on 12 hardpoints and typically uses the N001VEP fire-control radar, which adds sea-search modes and supports anti-ship missiles like the Kh-31A as well as the Kh-31P anti-radiation variant. Venezuela originally took delivery of two dozen Su-30MK2s and has showcased them repeatedly as the centerpiece of its deterrent posture.
If the bombs in the video are indeed M-54 pattern, they most closely align with the Soviet-designed FAB-250 M-54, a 250-kilogram general-purpose bomb with roughly 100 kilograms of high explosive. The M-54 family is recognizable by the nose ring used for ballistic stabilization and dates to the mid-1950s, preceding the later low-drag M-62 that is more common for external carriage on fighters. In training, crews typically practice level or shallow-dive releases using CCIP or CCRP modes to build accuracy and fuse-setting familiarity for targets such as airfields, depots, coastal sites, and troop concentrations.
A Su-30MK2 delivering paired 250-kilogram bombs signals retained proficiency in unguided strike, a skill with operational relevance in Venezuela’s likely scenarios. Against surface forces or shore installations within the Caribbean littorals, 250-kilogram HE bombs deliver reliable runway cratering and area-denial effects at modest cost, while minimizing logistic strain compared with larger ordnance. When paired with the MK2’s radar, optical sighting, and navigation suite, Venezuelan crews can generate quick-reaction fires from dispersed bases or road-runway segments to service time-sensitive targets, then recover under fighter escort. In a maritime context, unguided bombs are less efficient than stand-off missiles but remain useful for secondary strikes on immobilized craft, fuel farms, or air-defense nodes supporting a coastal defense fight.
The training clip lands as Washington and Caracas trade signals and counter-signals. In recent days, U.S. forces struck a vessel alleged to be tied to drug trafficking in international waters near Venezuela, while senior U.S. officials hardened their line on engagement with the Maduro government. Caracas has amplified its own military messaging, highlighting Sukhoi flights and special exercises after denouncing U.S. operations in the region. The result is a tense operating picture in the southern Caribbean, where Venezuelan Su-30MK2s, U.S. naval and Marine aviation, and regional partners are flying within the same strategic theater.
This exercise sends two messages. First, the Su-30MK2 remains the Venezuelan Air Force’s most credible strike asset, combining long legs, a heavy warload, and a sensor suite tailored for sea control and interdiction. Second, the apparent choice of M-54-type unguided bombs underscores a training emphasis on baseline bomb-delivery competence that supports a spectrum of missions from border security to coastal denial, while conserving scarce precision munitions. In the shadow of persistent U.S.–Venezuela tensions and the wider Essequibo dispute that sharpened in 2023–2024, even short clips like this one are part of a broader deterrence conversation taking place above some of the most contested waters in the hemisphere.
