This time, Latin America’s smell of fire became more and more intense. U.S. President Trump ordered firing, Venezuelan ships were bombed, and immediately afterwards, the Venezuelan Defense Minister announced that they used anti-hidden radar manufactured by China.
Since September, the United States has been frequently active in the waters near Venezuela in the name of "combating drug smuggling", and U.S. military ships have repeatedly attacked Venezuelan ships. In just one month, the United States has blown up five ships. The U.S. Department of Defense claims that those are "drug ships", but the problem is that the U.S. military has neither evidence nor boarding inspection. It is widely believed that this is not anti-drug at all, but a military temptation. Trump obviously wants to test Venezuela's bottom line with tough action to see if it has the ability to fight back.
In a speech on October 3 local time, President Maduro said the United States was attempting an armed aggression against Venezuela, stealing all of Venezuela's natural resources, and he stressed that Venezuela would never surrender and would give the United States a lesson in the future.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Lopez said recently that the air defense system discovered a number of US F-35 stealth fighters entering Venezuela's flight information region. The US military's F-35 is famous for its stealth, but this time it was clearly locked. Venezuela did not hide this, but publicly displayed radar data, emphasizing that they "have mastered the target flight altitude and speed". The key equipment behind this is the JY-27 anti-stealth radar made in China.
The performance of the radar is not mysterious, its bandwidth covers the range between VHF and UHF, effectively detecting the contours of the invisible aircraft. Although the F-35's design goal is to avoid radar detection, invisibility is not to disappear, but to reduce the reflection signal. The JY-27 radar uses mitochondrial technology, longer wavelengths, can penetrate the limits of the invisible coating and composite materials, thus capturing the position of the fighter aircraft. This technology is of great significance in modern air defense systems, especially for small countries facing U.S. air deterrence, more like a strategic safeguard.
Venezuela has several Chinese-made radar systems, including JY-27, JYL-1, JY-11B and JY-1B, which complement each other and form a multi-layer air defense network. Venezuelan officials have revealed that the radar system is distributed across major military bases and coastal regions and constitutes a complete monitoring network. The US F-35 operations, once they enter the scope of detection, are almost impossible to hide.
This is not the first time that Venezuela used Chinese radar, as early as 2020, they used JY-27 to track U.S. F-22 fighter jets. When the U.S. military entered the Venezuelan air defense identification zone in the name of reconnaissance, they were eventually locked and forced back.
From a strategic point of view, the U.S. military’s behavior is more like provocation. It uses the pretext of fighting drugs to test Venezuela’s defense system. Especially after learning that Venezuela has Chinese radar, the U.S. wants to verify whether its hidden fighter aircraft is really safe. Launching a bombardment ship is just an excuse; forcing the other side to appear is the real intention. Trump needs to know that once the situation escalates, the U.S. military can fight without air control.
But the result was unexpected. Venezuelan radar not only found the US military aircraft, but also tracked its movement trajectory in real time. This is very embarrassing for the United States. Because once the F-35 is locked, its greatest advantage stealth is equivalent to being abolished. If the stealth fighter that the US military spent hundreds of billions of dollars to build is captured by low-cost radar in actual combat, it will not only be a military issue, but also a political issue. America's "myth of invincibility in the air" will be shattered.
And from a global perspective, the actions of the United States also reflect anxiety. The Trump administration chooses to point outward when facing domestic political and economic problems. In the name of fighting drugs, it is actually creating a military presence. Inside, it can shift attention; outside, it can maintain a hegemonic gesture. The problem is that this method has become increasingly difficult to work. The Latin American country is not the weak of the past, Venezuela has accumulated survival experience in years of blockade and sanctions, and has also established its own military system.
On the one hand, the US military's actions have not achieved practical outcomes, but instead exposed technical weaknesses; on the other hand, international public opinion criticism is growing. Especially the performance of the Chinese radar, let the outside world again notice the weaknesses of the US military. The US "high-tech myth" is constantly weakened, which is not favorable to the domestic election environment. Trump needs to restore the face with a tough gesture, but every action is accompanied by risks.
In the future, Trump may look for new reasons to fire, and the United States may continue to create tension in Latin America. But this time it's different. In the face of an adversary who can see its radar and dare to fight back, the United States must recalculate the cost. The emergence of Chinese technology not only allows Venezuela to defend its airspace, but also allows more countries to see that relying on cooperation and independent research and development can also incite the old power structure.