The protracted war in Ukraine has exposed key vulnerabilities of the ageing Su-25 fleet, leading to significant combat attrition while the type’s operational effectiveness has been unimpressive. This leads to a conclusion that the end of the Frogfoot’s career in Russia is in sight. Alexander Mladenov explains why.
Known as the only Russian Aerospace Forces (RuAF) combat jet purposely designed back in the 1970s for the highly dynamic, dirty and dangerous close air support (CAS) role, performed at low- and ultra-low level over the battlefield the ugly yet sturdy Su-25 Frogfoot has built a reputation as a survivable and effective attack workhorse.
It was utilised to fly high-intensity, short-range, low-level sorties over the preceding four decades, in tens of local wars and conflicts in the past. In most of the cases the Frogfoot had performed pretty well, but the all-out war in Ukraine presented a completely different case in 2022 and 2023. The type has fared in a mediocre way while also suffering from significant losses and the survivors experiencing a lot of wear and tear. Furthermore, the excessive attrition, combined with the non-descript battlefield achievements, is set to threaten the Su-25’s medium-term future w…
