Sukhoi SU-25 'Frogfoot'
Picture of Sukhoi SU-25 Frogfoot
First spotted by US spy satellites in the late 1970s the Sukhoi Frogfoot (as it is called in the West) is the Russian equivalent of the American A-10 Warthog, although lighter, more compact and less heavily armoured than the A-10. It was not until 1981 that it became clear that the Frogfoot was made by Sukhoi and was actually given the code name Frogfoot in 1982. The Frogfoot is a low cost simple Counterinsurgency (COIN) aircraft - a more practical choice than a VTOL aircraft such as a land based version of the Yak-38 Forger would have been for the Russians. It first saw service in 1982 in Afghanistan but not until trials there were completed did the Russians start large scale production and it was thought to have gone fully operational in 1984. It is often seen working with helicopter gunships such as the Mi-24 'Hind'. The Frogfoot was used to drop various munitions on the Afghan rebels from conventional Iron bombs to chemical (including nerve gas and blistering/choking gases) and incendiary agents. In Europe the Frogfoot would have an anti armour tank busting role much like the A-10 although it lacks the huge cannon of the American aircraft. Several other countries also operate the Frogfoot including Iraq which took delivery in 1985 at that time becoming the plane's first non Warsaw Pact user.
Estimated performance: max speed - 545 mph;
Weapon load - 4,000 Kg;
Combat
range (Low level flying) - 544 km.
How to cite this article:
Dugdale-Pointon, TDP. (14 January 2001), Sukhoi SU-25 'Frogfoot', http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_frogfoot.html