The Sukhoi Su-25 Grach (Rook), a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft, was developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi to provide close air support for Soviet Ground Forces. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 22 February 1975. Since entering service more than 44 years ago, the Su-25 has seen combat in several conflicts.
Su-25SM3 in Kubinka, 2018 (Image source: Wikipedia)
Design and Development
In early 1968, the Soviet Ministry of Defence decided to develop a specialised armoured assault aircraft to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The idea of creating a ground-support aircraft came about after analysing the experience of ground-attack (shturmovaya) aviation during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The Soviet fighter-bombers in service or under development at the time (Su-7, Su-17, MiG-21 and MiG-23) did not meet the requirements for close air support of the army. They lacked essential armour plating to protect the pilot and vital equipment from ground fire and missile hits, and their high flight speeds made it difficult for the pilot to maintain visual contact with a target.
In March 1969, a competition was announced by the Soviet Air Force that called for designs for a new battlefield close-support aircraft. Participants in the competition were the Sukhoi design bureau and the design bureaus of Yakovlev, Ilyushin and Mikoyan. Sukhoi finalised its "T-8" design in late 1968, and began work on the first two prototypes (T8-1 and T8-2) in January 1972. The T8-1, the first airframe to be assembled, was completed on 9 May 1974. However, it did not make its first flight until 22 February 1975.
During flight-testing phases of the T8-1 and T8-2 prototypes' development, the Sukhoi Design Bureau's management proposed that the series production of the Su-25 should start at Factory No. 31 in Tbilisi, Soviet Republic of Georgia, which at that time was the major manufacturing base for the MiG-21UM "Mongol-B" trainer.
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The USSR’s prioritization of developing an advanced airframe followed America’s endeavor to create its A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog” tank-busting jet. In the 1960s, the Soviet Air Force announced a competition in order to secure its next-generation close-support airframe. Sukhoi’s T-8 prototype was ultimately selected, culminating in the introduction of the Su-25 fighter. While the Frogfoot and A-10 can be compared, the Soviet fighter is quicker and lighter than its near-peer.
Comparison between the Su-25 Frogfoot and the A-10 Thunderbolt II (Image source: The National Interest)
SU25 Frogfoot combat footage
Design Features
The Su-25 has a conventional aerodynamic layout with a shoulder-mounted trapezoidal wing and a traditional tailplane and rudder. All versions of the Su-25 have a metal cantilever wing, of moderate sweep, high aspect ratio and equipped with high-lift devices. The wing consists of two cantilever sections attached to a central torsion box, forming a single unit with the fuselage. The air brakes are housed in fairings at the tip of each wing. The flaps are mounted by steel sliders and rollers, attached to brackets on the rear spar.
Early versions of the Su-25 were equipped with two R-95Sh non-afterburning turbojets, in compartments on either side of the rear fuselage. The engines, sub-assemblies and surrounding fuselage are cooled by air provided by the cold air intakes on top of the engine nacelles. A drainage system collects oil, hydraulic fluid residues and fuel from the engines after flight or after an unsuccessful start. The autocannon is in a compartment beneath the cockpit, mounted on a load-bearing beam attached to the cockpit floor and the forward fuselage support structure.
The pilot flies the aircraft by means of a centre stick and left hand throttles. The pilot sits on a Zvezda K-36 ejection seat (similar to the Sukhoi Su-27) and has standard flight instruments. At the rear of the cockpit is a six-millimetre-thick steel headrest, mounted on the rear bulkhead. The cockpit has a bathtub-shaped armoured enclosure of welded titanium sheets, with transit ports in the walls. The canopy hinges open to the right and the pilot enters using the flip-down ladder. Once inside, the pilot sits low in the cockpit, protected by the bathtub assembly, which makes for a cramped cockpit. Visibility from the cockpit is limited, being a trade-off for improved pilot protection.
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The base model Su-25 incorporates a number of key avionics systems. The Su-25 often has radios installed for air-to-ground and air-to-air communications, including an SO-69 identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) transponder. The aircraft's self-defence suite includes various measures, such as flare and chaff dispensers capable of launching up to 250 flares and dipole chaff.
Operational History
The Su-25 has seen extensive combat in various conflicts around the world:
- Soviet-Afghan War: The 200th Independent Attack Squadron was reassigned to Shindand Airbase in western Afghanistan, becoming the first Su-25 unit deployed to that country. Over the course of the war, Su-25s launched 139 guided missiles of all types against Mujahideen positions. On average, each aircraft performed 360 sorties a year, a total considerably higher than that of any other combat aircraft in Afghanistan. By the end of the war, nearly 50 Su-25s were deployed at Afghan airbases, carrying out a total of 60,000 sorties.
- Iran-Iraq War: The first Su-25s were commissioned by the Iraqi Air Force in 1987 and performed approximately 900 combat sorties towards the end of the war, carrying out the bulk of Iraqi air attack missions. During the most intense combat of the war, Iraqi Su-25s performed up to 15 sorties per day, each.
- Gulf War (1991): The air superiority of the coalition forces was so great that the majority of Iraqi Su-25s did not even manage to get airborne.
- First and Second Chechen Wars: Russian Su-25s were employed during the First Chechen War. The Air Force's deployed assets performed around 9,000 air sorties, with around 5,300 being strike sorties during the Chechen campaign between 1994 and 1996. Russian Air Force Su-25s were extensively used during the Second Chechen War.
- Other Conflicts: Su-25 attack aircraft were used by the Ethiopian Air Force to strike Eritrean targets. Su-25s were used by the Macedonian Air Force during the conflict against Albanian separatists. During the Ivorian Civil War, Su-25s were used by government forces to attack rebel targets. In August 2008, Su-25s were used by both Georgia and Russia during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war.
- Russo-Ukrainian War: The Ukrainian Air force also operates Su-25s. Ukrainian armed forces deployed aircraft over insurgent Eastern regions starting in spring 2014. On 23 July 2014, two Su-25s were shot down in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. On 29 August 2014, a Ukrainian Su-25 was shot down by pro-Russian rebels. On 4 May 2024, soldiers of the 110th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces destroyed a Russian Su-25 in the Donetsk region. On 22 May 2024, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the defense forces shot down a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft in the Pokrovsky direction.
Su-25 Variants
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, several Su-25 variants appeared, including modernised versions, and variants for specialised roles. The most significant designs were the Su-25UB dual-seat trainer, the Su-25BM target-towing variant, and the Su-25T for antitank missions. In addition, an Su-25KM prototype was developed by Georgia in co-operation with Israeli company Elbit Systems in 2001.
Su-25UB two-seat trainer variant (Image source: Wikipedia)
Modernization and Upgrades
Over its decades in service, the Su-25 Frogfoot has undergone several overhauls to retain an edge over competitor airframes. Rostec state corporation planned to modify the Su-25 attack aircraft for new weapons based on their experience of its use in a special military operation in Ukraine. The effectiveness of the latest modification of the Su-25SM3 has been increased significantly; the aircraft can also use high-precision weapons.
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Su-25 Specifications
Here's a table summarizing the key specifications of the Su-25:
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Engines | Two Soyuz / Gavrilov R-195s turbojet engines |
| Thrust (per engine) | 44.18kN |
| Climb Rate | 58m/s |
| Maximum Speed | 950km/h |
| Combat Radius | 375km |
| Ferry Range | 7,500km |
| Take-off Roll | 750m |
| Landing Roll | 600m |
| Internal Fuel Capacity | 3,600l |
South African Context and the African Aviation Market
Finding either of these in South Africa posed a problem. Air Force A-10 Warthog or even the Russian-built Su-25 Frogfoot are overkill. Even the Russian-built Frogfoot is too expensive to operate in numbers for most of these nations. Only a few African nations operate more than a handful of Su-25s. Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ivory Coast and Sudan operate less than a dozen such aircraft and the majority of those own less than half that number. Angola operates about 15 Frogfoots, but the aircraft that best suits its needs are its half-dozen very cheap and very effective Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano counter-insurgency machines. In the 1980s, during the war in Angola, South African aviation encountered air defense systems, for which it was necessary to find an antidote.
And in the early 1990s, the local defense industry developed the BARB (boosted anti-radar bomb) aerial bomb, which was a modification of the Mk.82 bomb with advanced aerodynamic rudders, a passive seeker, a control unit, and even a rocket booster from a locally produced 127-mm MLRS. All these measures to modernize a conventional bomb allowed the aircraft to hit radars by throwing them from a pitch-up position at a distance of up to 18 km, and if the aircraft rose to an altitude of 10 km, the bomb flew to a distance of 80 km.
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