The US operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro serves as a reminder for China to bolster its air defences and counter-intelligence protections, observers say.
Analysts in China described Venezuela’s air defences – which rely largely on Russian technology – as “full of flaws and slow to react” amid the modern surveillance, cyber, and electronic warfare displayed by US forces in Saturday’s operation in Caracas.
The operation could serve as a further case study for China, which has been a long-time observer of US military operations, particularly since the 1991 Gulf war.
However, some Chinese analysts argued that the US targeted a much weaker adversary, making the operation less of a direct warning for major powers.
In a mission lasting less than three hours, US military units including the elite Delta Force abducted Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from their breached Caracas compound, airlifting them to a US warship before flying the couple to New York.
Venezuela boasts advanced Russian-made air defences, including the S-300VM surface-to-air missile system and Buk-M2 complexes, as well as Chinese-made JY-27A radar systems. However, the US forces were able to blind and disrupt these systems using advanced cyber and electronic warfare.
On Monday, in a speech hailing US military strength, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth mocked Venezuela’s air-defence system: “Seems those Russian air defences didn’t quite work so well, did they?”
More than 150 US military aircraft, including fighter jets, bombers and reconnaissance planes, flew into Venezuelan airspace for the operation, creating pathways for the helicopters while also striking radar and air defence batteries, according to US officials.
Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military analyst formerly with the air force, noted it was possible that US platforms had forced Venezuela’s radars to shut down.
“The US military is believed to have disrupted power and communications, potentially affecting radars and even their command systems. This suggests the operation was carefully planned to limit the ability to respond effectively,” Fu said.
“The S-300 system should theoretically remain on high alert, but it might not have reacted simply because it wasn’t powered on.”
But even if it was, Fu said that it might not have been able to detect low-flying incoming targets, including helicopters that US officials said flew at just 100 feet (30 metres) above the water to evade radar detection.
In addition to S-300 systems, Venezuela deployed Chinese-made JY-27A surveillance radars – devices its manufacturer, China Electronics Technology Group, and state media describe as jam-resistant, highly reliable and mobile.
Fu said the radar itself was not attached to an air-defence firing system and might have struggled to detect low-flying helicopters in complicated geographical conditions.
He added that air surveillance systems required complex coordination to function effectively.
“Air surveillance is not the task of a single radar system,” he said. “Venezuela’s defence and surveillance systems are full of flaws, with slow and delayed responses to emergencies, leading to significant losses.
“This could be closely tied to the military’s overall state of readiness.”