The S-300 and Buk-M2 air defense systems manufactured by Russia were purchased by Venezuela in 2009. However, Venezuela has been unable to maintain and operate the S-300 system, one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world, as well as the Buk air defense system, making its airspace vulnerable when the Pentagon launched Operation Absolute Resolve to arrest President Maduro, according to 4 incumbent and former US officials.
Moreover, an analysis by the New York Times based on photos, videos and satellite images shows that some air defense components are still being stored, not operating, at the time of the US attack on Venezuela.
Venezuela's air defense systems are basically not connected when US forces enter the skies of the Venezuelan capital and they may have been inactive for many years, former officials and analysts said.
When Venezuela bought air defense systems from Russia, they were part of a spending package worth billions of USD to restructure the country's army. This package also equipped Venezuela's arsenal with Su-30 fighter jets, T-72 tanks and thousands of man-portable surface-to-air missile systems (Manpads).
But Venezuela faces difficulties in maintaining Russian equipment, often lacking replacement parts and technical knowledge to maintain or operate military equipment, according to 4 incumbent senior officials and former US officials.
It seems that Russia's air defense system has not worked very effectively, has it?” - US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said just days after the US attack on Venezuela.
The Venezuelan military seems to have been surprised by the US campaign. An assessment by the New York Times based on photos and videos posted on social networks, along with satellite images, shows that the US military mainly targets locations where Venezuela has deployed or stored the Buk air defense system.
At one location, component warehouses of the Buk missile system were destroyed by US aircraft before being deployed, showing that the Venezuelan army was not prepared to respond to this operation.
“The Venezuelan armed forces are almost unprepared for a US attack. Their troops are not dispersed, search radars are not activated, deployed or operating. That is a series of mistakes that help the US operate easily, facing a very low threat from Venezuela's air defense system” - Yaser Trujillo, a military analyst in Venezuela, said.
According to Michael Kofman, senior researcher at the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace, Venezuela also has radar provided by China.
An unnamed US official said that this radar was also destroyed by US fighter jets, making it even more difficult for Russian-made air defense systems to play their role.
Venezuelan Manpads shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles also do not appear much to protect the country's airspace from US aircraft.
Some videos show the moment a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile was fired in the campaign in Venezuela, but was immediately fiercely counterattacked by US aircraft.
