This is an old revision of this page, as edited by ThaGrind (talk | contribs) at 23:52, 28 November 2003. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 23:52, 28 November 2003 by ThaGrind (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)File:Su25 09.jpg)
Su-25 of the Russian Air Force
){kind=link}
The Su-25 (NATO reporting name "Frogfoot") was designed by Sukhoi. The plane was developed as a result of studies in the late 1960s on an aircraft to fill the Shturmovik (ground attack) role. More specifically it was to fill the close air support role. It is comprable to the A-10, and was heavily used by the Soviet Union during its operations in Afghanistan in the 80s.
The Su-25 made it's first flight in 1979, despite this, it is no longer in production. The Frogfoot is heavily armed, and able to carry more than 4,000 kg of weaponary in the ground-attack role. It is also very tough, and provides the pilot with a lot of protection. Despite this, the aircraft is not very popular with pilots, since it was often shotdown by shoulder-launched SAMs in Afghanistan. A new variant, the Su-39 was developed based on the lessons learned in Afghanistan, but it has not gone into heavy production. The Su-25 is flown by the air forces of Afghanistan, Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, North Korea, Peru, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine