The Commander of Long-Range Air Force has reported to Commander-in-Chief of Russian Aerospace Forces on the implementation of Tu-160 flights in the Caribbean Sea.
Press Release, 14 December 2018: Commander of Long-Range Air Force, Lieutenant General Sergey Kobylash, reported by video conference to Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Colonel General Sergei Surovikin, on the implementation of the flights of two Tu-160 strategic bombers in the air space over the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea using the Maiquetía airfield of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. He noted that two Tu-160 aircraft of the Long-Range Aviation command had conducted a transatlantic non-stop flight from the Olenya airfield to the airfield of Maiquetía of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on December 10, 2018.
![](http://www.joint-forces.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Surovikin-300x200.jpg)
Colonel General Sergei Surovikin is briefed on the Transatlantic Tu-160 flight to the Caribbean [image © Russian Federation MoD]
In order to ensure the flight and delivery of the advance team, on December 9, 2018, two An-124 and Il-62 support aircraft were carried out flight from the Chkalovsky airfield to the Maiquetía airfield.
A flight of strategic missile carriers in the Caribbean region was carried out in accordance with the approved plan on December 12. The flight was carried out at an altitude of 8-9 km. Meteorological conditions were simple. There were no failures of aviation equipment, the tasks were fulfilled, foreign falcons did not accompany the aircraft.
[ Source: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation ]
Footnote: The Su-160, NATO reporting name is Blackjack, is capable of carrying six cruise missiles or twelve short range nuclear missiles.