"Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces Col. Gen. Sergei Surovikin has set forward a task to organize preparations for returning back to home bases and to perform this task in line with the approved decision," a spokesperson said.
On December 10 and 12, Russian Long-Range Aviation Commander Sergei Kobylash reported to Surovikin via a video linkup that Russian strategic bombers have successfully performed flights with the use of Venezuelan airfields.
The crews of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Venezuelan Air Force have held joint classes at Maiquetia airport as they prepared the aircrews and aircraft for flights. The Russian and Venezuelan pilots studied the flight area near Maiquetia airport and discussed interaction with flight controllers and radio communication terminology.
After that, Russia’s Tu-160 and Su-30, and Venezuela’s F-16 have conducted a joint flight above the Caribbean Sea region, which lasted about ten hours in total.
