General Discussion

Before helicopters entered the Venezuelan airspace, US forces worked to blind and disrupt the country’s defenses using a combination of cyber and electronic warfare tools.

US officials suggested that large parts of Caracas lost power at the onset of the operation, an effect attributed to the targeted disruption of infrastructure supporting military observation and command systems. The blackout coincided with the opening phase of air operations, reducing visibility and coordination for Venezuelan forces.

At the same time, US Navy electronic warfare aircraft were used to suppress Venezuela’s Russian-made air defense systems. Radar-jamming platforms flooded the electromagnetic spectrum, forcing air defense radars to either shut down or expose themselves. Once active, those radars were targeted by AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles, weapons designed to home in on radar emissions and destroy them. This suppression of enemy air defenses created a temporary air corridor into Caracas.