America launched a military attack on Venezuela and arrested President Nicolas Maduro along with his wife. This action was carried out by America’s elite Delta Force. After this incident, the question is being raised at the global level that if this conflict turns into a full-scale war, then how long will the Venezuelan army be able to stand against a superpower like America. Although Venezuela’s Defense Minister has spoken of fighting till his last breath, the figures of military capability tell the story of a huge imbalance between the two countries. According to the report of Global Fire Index, America is at first place in terms of military strength. Whereas Venezuela is at number 50. This clearly shows that Venezuela is no where near America.

The Venezuelan armed forces are called the National Bolivarian Armed Forces. This army has been created mainly to maintain the internal security of the country and the stability of the government. At present, the number of its active soldiers is considered to be around 1 lakh 9 thousand. Apart from this, there are about 8 thousand soldiers in the reserve force. If paramilitary forces and militia are also added, the total number reaches around 2 lakh 20 thousand. Although this number looks strong on paper, this army is considered limited in terms of training, sources and technology.

air force and ground forces

The Venezuelan Air Force has a total of about 229 aircraft. Most of these are older Russian models, such as the Su-30MK2. There is a severe shortage of modern stealth fighter jets or advanced air defense systems. The effectiveness of these aircraft is considered limited in the face of modern missile and precision air attacks. The ground army has about 170 to 200 tanks and about 8,800 armored vehicles. These are also mostly old and have limited technology. Talking about the navy, Venezuela has small warships and coast guard boats, but no aircraft carriers or major maritime strike capability.

Defense budget becomes the biggest weakness

Venezuela’s annual defense budget is said to be around 4 to 5 billion dollars. This budget is considered extremely inadequate for modern weapons, new technology and logistics support. Modernization of the army has been stalled for a long time due to economic crisis and sanctions.

Now let’s look at America’s military strength

On the other hand, America is known as the most powerful military power in the world. There are approximately 1.3 million active soldiers in the United States Military. Apart from this, including Reserve and National Guard, this number reaches about 21 lakhs, which is many times more than that of Venezuela.

American air power and naval dominance

The US has more than 13,000 military aircraft, including state-of-the-art stealth fighter jets like the F-22 and F-35. These aircraft are capable of avoiding radar and carrying out precise attacks. Talking about maritime power, the US Navy has about 440 warships, which include 11 nuclear aircraft carriers. Apart from this, missile destroyers, nuclear submarines and long-range strike capabilities make America unbeatable at sea.

Technology, Nuclear and Global Network

America has a huge stockpile of nuclear weapons. Along with this, military bases spread across the world, satellite networks, space force and cyber war capabilities give it an edge at every level. Joint command system and real-time intelligence makes America fast and decisive in any war.

What will be the outcome if there is a war?

If there is a direct war between America and Venezuela, then Venezuela will not be able to last long in a one-on-one fight. America is ahead on every front in technology, weapons, budget and resources. Venezuela’s only option may be to resort to guerrilla tactics, local militias and prolonged asymmetric conflict rather than conventional war. However, this strategy can also show effect only for a limited period of time.

Also read: ‘If Trump can do this then India will kill the mastermind of 26/11…’ What did Asaduddin Owaisi say on Maduro’s arrest?

In campaigns like Operation Sindoor, the whole world has seen India’s growing military strength. Seeing this, the way the Indian Army took accurate action on the terrorist bases present in Pakistan, the big companies of America, who made military weapons, have lost their sweat. American experts say that in view of India, America needs immediate defense reform.

In the Small Wars Journal, John Spencer and Vincent Vyilla wrote that in 2014, this step was taken to make domestic products and self -reliance in the defense sector in 2014 and after 10 years, this effort in Operation Sindoor brought color and the whole world is his witness.

India is rapid innovation in the military sector, manufacturing modern weapons with new technology for war, which is also low and more and more weapons are being emphasized in the country, while the US is trapped in the old and cold warlords. There is also a lot of difference in the cost of Indian and American weapons. The price of Indian Pinaka rocket is less than 56 thousand dollars, while the US GMLRS missile costs $ 1,48,000. Similarly, the price of India’s sky missile defense system is equal to a fraction of Patriot or Nasams platform in America.

The deal was signed with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for Rs 1,982 crore to create a sky defense system, while the US NASAMS defense system is priced at Rs 3,842 crore. The largest companies in American defense industry are Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Gumman, Rethon Technology and General Dynamics. According to SIPRI, 9 of the world’s 20 largest defense companies are Americans.

Experts say that America’s acquisition process is quite slow. Here it takes years to make changes in the military sector and sometimes in decades, modernization is done. The high cost of American weapons is also a major reason for this, which obstruct modernization. F-35 is an accurate example of this, which costs $ 1.7 trillion and has been criticized several times for its poor performance. US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has also accepted that the F-35 program was a big mistake, which will not be repeated again.