The Russian Su-25 attack aircraft, performing a sortie in one of the regions of Ukraine, was seriously damaged due to an anti-aircraft missile fired from a MANPADS hitting it.
The anti-air missile exploded near the aircraft damaging the tail section, engine and wing. The pilot deployed chaffs, preventing a second attack. The pilot landed the plane, but the aircraft was unusable due to the loss of one engine and damage to the airframe.
Footage released by the Russian MOD early on Mar. 14, 2022, proves once again how sturdy the Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot can be. The clip shows the aircraft taxiing with significant damage reportedly caused by a MANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense System) that hit the jet on the rear right-hand side of the fuselage.
Indeed, IR-homing missiles usually hit the engine nacelle/rear fuselage area where the temperature of the exhaust plume is higher, and the Su-25 is not new to such events. Today’s images remind both the impressive damage tolerance of the Su-25 and the threat posed to all Russian aircraft operating at medium and low altitudes over the battlefields by the MANPADS operated by the Ukrainian forces.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, at least six Su-25s have been confirmed lost in Ukraine.
Dealing with the most recent event, the Russian MOD posted a video that shows the extent of the damage to the Su-25SM (that according to some sources, was operating from an airfield in Belarus).
The Sukhoi Su-25 Grach is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. While the Soviet call sign “Grach” means “rook,” the USSR’s adversary NATO gave the Su-25 a much less imposing designation: the “Frogfoot.”
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