The Su-25 was developed during 1968 as a jet sturmovik (Stormovik) . An outstanding example of this class was the WWII Ilyushin IL-2 ground attack aircraft which was an efficient tank buster. Sturmovik is therefore the general classification given to all ground attack aircraft by the Soviets. First identified by the USA in the late 1970s, when recorded by orbiting satellites while undergoing early flight test at the USSR's Ramenskoye test centre, this aircraft was given the provisional designation 'Ram-J' by the United States Department of Defence. When deliveries to the Soviet Air Force began in late 1980 it was learned that the new aircraft was the Sukhoi Su-25, and in 1982 NATO allocated to it the reporting name 'Frogfoot'.

In service with VVS, the Su-25 was nicknamed "Gratch" (The Rook) by the Russian. This comes from the bird's ability to get the food out of hard to reach spots, which is very similar to the plane's ability to destroy he hardened targets in hard to reach locations in the mountains. The Afghanistani Mujahideens called the Su-25"The German Product" because of their initial disbelief that something that efficient can be designed by the Soviets. It was the most feared and respected fixed wing aircraft. The Soviet infantry called the Su-25"Rascheska" ( The Comb ), because loaded Su-25 with its ten pylons occupied with the payload, resembled the comb if viewed from below . The VVS (Soviet Air Force) staff called the Su-25"Konyok-Gorbunok" which is a fictional animal from one of the fairytales by Bazhenov. This character is more like a pony or some sort of a miniature horse, which looks ugly and small, but can outperform the bigger (and faster) stablemates. Czechoslovak's Su-25s were nicknamed"Steam Locomotives".

The prototype known as T-8-1 flew on 22 February 1975 with the Su-17M2's weapons system. Further prototypes introduced the R-95Sh engine ( a non-afterburning version of the MiG-21's R-13-300 turbojet), a twin-barrelled 30-mm cannon and the Su-17M3's weapons system. The production Su-25 introduced enlarged engine intakes and increased armour around cockpit and critical components. Combat experience in Afghanistan led to the addition of bolt-on chaff/flare dispensers, and an exhaust IR suppressor. From 1987, the R-195 Tumanskii engine was introduced, and fitted to all two-seaters.

The SU-25 Frogfoot's main production plant was at Tbilisi, Georgia, whilst the production of the two-seat SU-25UB was undertaken at the Ulan Ude Aviation Plant, Russia. When the Soviet Union disintegrated, production at the Tbilisi plant ended in 1989 after approximately 330 aircraft had been built. It is now thought that the SU-25/T/TM/TK "Frogfoot" is no longer in production.

The Frogfoot is regarded as a Soviet equivalent of the US Air Force's Fairchild A-10A Thunderbolt II, and as such it is intended for deployment in a similar battlefield close-support role, but performance figures show that the SU-25's higher maximum speed was gained at the cost of reduced weapons load and also of lesser range and/or endurance. In configuration, the SU-25 is a shoulder-wing monoplane, the wing incorporating considerable anhedral and about 20?of sweepback. The leading edge of the wing has full-span slats, and doftooth at 50 per cent span with extended chord outboard to the wing tip; the entire trailing edge is occupied by ailerons and double-slotted flaps. At each wing tip is a fairing of flattened ovoid cross-section that houses (in the lower forward end) a retractable landing light, and which is formed at the rear by upper lower split spoilers that can be extended collectively to serve as air brakes or operated differentially to improve maneuverability in low-level flight. The tail unit is conventional, the landing gear is of retractable tricycle type with low-pressure tyres and designed specifically for operation from rough surfaces, and power is provided by two turbojets mounted in long nacelles at each wing root. The single-seat accommodation for the pilot is protected by armour which is incorporated in the fuselage side structure and by flat bullet-proof windscreen. External antennae indicate that avionics include 'Odd Rods' IFF and a Sirena-3 radar-warning system, and the tailcone serves to house a chaff/decoy flare dispenser. A laser rangefinder and marked-target seeker is mounted within the nose.

The SU-25 was deployed for experimental operational use in Afghanistan, where the Soviet Air Force placed early emphasis on the development of co-ordination techniques to maximize the efficiency of close-support operations in which SU-25 and Mil Mi-24 'Hind' helicopter gunships were collaborating. Attaining full operational capability in 1984, the SU-25 force in CIS service now totals some 700 aircrafts, and this derivative has also been exported to a number of favoured customers in its SU-25K version.

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This page was updated on Friday, 17 January 2003.