Sukhoi Su-25 Grach

Su-25 

Meet the Sukhoi Su-25 Grach, Moscow’s designated tank killer. This single seat, twin-engine aircraft called as Frogfoot by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is a Soviet Era aircraft developed by Sukhoi Design Bureau Joint Stock Company to provide CAS (close air support) for the Soviet Ground Forces. It is capable of destroying small mobile and stationary ground targets, as well as engaging low-speed air targets.

The aircraft has a conventional aerodynamic layout with a shoulder mounted trapezoidal wing, tailplane and rudder. Her airframe was made of 60% aluminium, 19% steel, 13.5% titanium, 2% magnesium alloy and 5.5% other materials. It is powered by two Soyuz/Tumansky R-195 turbojet engines with a combat radius and ferry range of 375km and 7,500km for her 3,600 liter fuel capacity and is equipped with self-sealing, foam-filled fuel tanks. The Su-25 has a maximum speed of 950km/h and can climb at a rate of 58 meters per seconds to the ceiling of 7,000 meters. She weighs around 10,740kg and its maximum take-off weight is 17,600kg.

A pilot posing with the Su-25 and its arsenal on the ground. 

Installed under the fuselage on the port side is the 30 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-2 autocannon, a twin-barelled gun armed with 250 rounds of ammunition which can fire a burst of 3,000 rounds a minute. The SPPU-22 gun pods can be installed under the wing pylons and carry the 23 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 autocannons loaded with 260 rounds. It uses the ASP-17 BTs-8 gun/bomb sight with an AKS-750s camera and Klyon PS laser ranger and target designator for aiming and locking on targets.

Su-25 firing missiles. 

The wings have 11 hard points with a load capacity of up to 4,400kg to carry air-to-air missiles (K-13A, R-60 and R-73E), air-to-ground missiles (Kh-23, Kh-25ML, Kh-29L and the anti-radiation missile Kh-28) and laser-guided bombs (FAB-250 general-purpose bombs, FAB-500 GP bomb KAB-500KR TV-guided bomb and ZB-500 incendiary bomb) or whatever combination of weapons needed for the mission. It can also be fitted with the UB-32A pods for the 57mm S-5 rockets and the B-8M1 pods for the 80mm S-8 rockets, S-24 240mm guided rockets and S-25 330mm guided rockets.

Su-25 cockpit.

The pilot is controlling the Su-25 via a center stick and lefthand throttles sitting on a Zvezda K-36 ejection seat inside an all-welded, 24mm titanium alloy cockpit with transparent windscreen armour block to protect the pilot. The pilot communicates with the SRO-2 IFF transponder, SO-69 air traffic control transponder and some air-to-ground and air-to-air communications radio. RSBN tactical air navigation system (TACAN), MRP-56P marker beacon receiving unit, RV-1S radio altimeter and various air data and acceleration indicators are installed in the aircraft for navigation. Her countermeasures are SPO-15 Sirena-3 radar warning receiver, Gardeniya radar jammer and the ASO-2V decoy dispenser.

Su-25SM

The latest variants are Su-25KM and Su-25SM. The Su-25SM (Stroyevoy Modernizirovannyi) entered service in January 2007, it is upgraded and equipped with a new navigation computer, Pastel countermeasures suite, SUO-39 fire control system and Phazotron Kopyo-25M radar. The Su-25KM (Kommercheskiy Modernizirovannyy), nicknamed "Scorpion” is a development programme by Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing of Georgia, in cooperation with Elbit Systems of Israel. It equipped the aircraft with a new advanced avionics system with a weapon delivery and navigation system for both Nato and Eastern European weapons and pods, and a new glass cockpit with two multicolour LCD displays and a head-up display (HUD).

The Su-25 Grach has been produced more than a thousand times and is in service with 25 countries. It is currently deployed by Russia in their military intervention in the Syrian War.

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