Hi everyone. Welcome back again with us in Military TV.
Today, we are going to talk about the Russian jet Sukhoi Su-25. To learn what’s special about
this aircraft, don’t go anywhere and make sure you stay until the end of the video.
Designed by Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi, Su-25 is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet
aircraft built mainly to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The NATO reporting
name for Su-25 is Frogfoot. Following its maiden flight on 22 February 1975, the aircraft undergone
series production in 1978 at Tbilisi, Georgia. Tracing back the history of Su-25, it started
with the fact that the Soviets were in a dire need of assault aircraft which is capable of
providing close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The notion of building ground-support
aircraft emerged after the experiences of ground-attack aviation during 1940s, 1950s,
and 1960s. At that time, some of the Soviet’s fighter bombers which were under development
or already in service did not satisfy the requirements for close air support of the army.
Having considered this issue, Pavel Sukhoi, an aerospace engineer and a group of specialists
in the Sukhoi Design Bureau started initial design work in a relatively short period of time with the
help of essential institutes of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Aviation Industry.
The first Su-25 unit was deployed to Afghanistan in July 1981 during the heightened Soviet-Afghan
War. It was reported that the unit was in charge of launching airstrikes against Afghan insurgent
groups' military positions in mountainous areas and structures. Approximately fifty Su-25s were
deployed to Afghan airbases over the duration of the war, with 139 guided missiles launched
against insurgent strongholds and approximately twenty-three Su-25s lost in combat operations.
The Su-25 also witnessed substantial combat during the Iraqi Air Force's Iran-Iraq War,
the Gulf War, the Georgian government's Abkhazian War, the First and Second Chechen Wars,
the Ethiopian Eritrean War, and the Sudanese Air Force's Darfur War, among others.
Now, let’s take a look at the design of Su-25.
The cockpit of Su-25 has a bathtub-shaped armoured hedge of welded titanium sheets, with ports meant
for transit. The canopy hangs open to the right and the pilot enters using the flip-down ladder.
There is also a folding ladder created into the left fuselage which provides access to the
top of the aircraft as well as to the cockpit. Su-25 known to be incorporated with several key
avionics systems. It does not feature television guidance, but it does have a unique nose-mounted
laser rangefinder that is assumed to be used for laser-based target detection. The Su-25 can fly at
night, in visual and instrument meteorological conditions, thanks to a DISS-7 doppler radar.
Radios for air-to-ground and air-to-air communications, as well as a SO-69
identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) transponder,
are frequently installed on Su-25s. The aircraft's self-defence system features
flare and chaff dispensers that can fire up to 250 flares per minute, as well as dipole chaff.
An SPO-15 radar warning receiver protects against hostile radar usage.
For the weapon, the aircraft loaded with approximately 113 kg for its 30-mm rapid
fire cannon. It also features FAB general-purpose bombs, RBK cluster bomb and some unguided rockets.
That’s all for today! Thank you for watching and see you in the next episode!