When Venezuela Planned to Order Top of the Line Russian Fighters: The Su-35 Deal That Almost Happened

Over half decade after it first entered service, Russia’s Su-35 heavyweight air superiority fighter has gained only two export clients, China and Egypt, which placed orders in 2015 an 2018 respectively for 24 and approximately 26 fighters. Although Russia is the world’s second largest exporter of military aircraft, it offers far more different classes of combat aircraft for export than any other country with the Su-35 receiving only a fraction of total foreign orders. Cheaper less specialised aircraft such as the Su-30SM, Su-30MKI and MiG-29M have meanwhile seen many more units sold abroad. In 2012 shortly before the Su-35 officially entered service, the aircraft gained considerable interest from a leading Russian defence client in the Americas - the then oil-rich and economically relatively prosperous state of Venezuela. 

Under President Hugo Chavez Venezuela’s heavily rentier oriented economy was free from Western economic sanctions and, more importantly, benefited from high oil prices which represented the large majority of the country’s exports. The country had invested much of this into modernising its armed forces, purchasing 24 Su-30MK2 heavyweight fighters and what was at the time the most advanced Russian long range air defence system ever exported - the S-300VM. Alongside orders for modern armour, artillery, attack helicopters and other weapons systems, Venezuela signed a contract for the Su-30 jets in 2006, with these aircraft being based on the same ‘Flanker’ airframe as the Su-35. The Su-30s are until today considered the most capable combat jets in the Americas outside the U.S. Military, and were equipped with a range of advanced weapons including Kh-31 cruise missiles and R-77 active radar guided long range air to air missiles.

Venezuela is thought to have considered purchasing 24 Su-35 fighters to follow on from its order for the Su-30MK2, with President Chavez stating to this effect in the early summer of 2012: “I have already sent a statement to the government of Russia that we are ready to consider buying in the next few years Su-35 fighters to modernise and enhance our defence powers… This independence, the well protected and guaranteed one, will give us a possibility to build new Venezuela, new Fatherland and to reach new horizons.” Venezuela was among the first countries to show an interest in the Su-35, with the Chavez administration highly valuing a strong military and a strong air defence capability in particular. The Venezuelan president’s death in 2013 marked an end to the era of major investments in military modernisation, with the subsequent administration of Nicholas Maduro facing a crash in global oil prices from 2014 and a difficult economic situation ever since which made prospects for further acquisitions of high end fighter jets unlikely. With Russia recently offering a more capable fighter than the Su-35 for export, the next generation Su-57 jet which is only marginally more costly, it remain to be seen whether the older jet will see any significant further foreign interest.