Ukrainian soldiers shoot down 5 Russian Su-25s in 10 days of fighting

This is reported by Defense Express.

It's been a long time since there have been reports of so many shootdowns of Russian-made aircraft, particularly Su-25 attack planes. According to The Military Balance 2023, the Russian Aerospace Forces had 40 Su-25 basic version aircraft in service at the start of this year, and about 125 more Su-25SM/SM3 versions, for a total of 165 units, or about 10% of the total number of military aircraft at the Russian troops' disposal. As a result, there is a separate reason to discuss the type of Su-25 assault aircraft and why they are dangerous.

Now, in terms of the Russian Su-25's qualities, we should start with the range of flight during combat missions, which is up to 1100 kilometers with suspended fuel tanks and up to 650 kilometers without ATGMs. That is, such assault aircraft can be stationed far further away from the front lines than our present ATACMS missiles, dubbed M39 (range - up to 160 kilometers), can "cover."

"The next indicator that should be specified is the combat payload, up to 1400 kilograms normal and up to 4000 kilograms maximum. The armament set can include guided missiles of the Kh-25 type (range from 10 km to 40 km, depending on the modification), and missiles of the Kh-29 type (from 8 km to 30 km, depending on the modification), unguided rockets S-25 (range from 3 km to 10 km, depending on the modification)," the Defense Express writes. 

It has a built-in double-barreled 30-mm GSh-30-2 gun with a capacity of 250 rounds.Furthermore, the Su-25 can transport unguided rocket blocks as well as unguided 250 kg and 500 kg bombs. The Su-25SM3 is also said to be capable of carrying R-27, R-73, and R-77 air-to-air missiles. Ten suspension units are installed beneath the wings of the Su-25 to support these weapons.

The Su-25 attack aircraft can reach a maximum flight speed of 950 km/h and a cruise speed of 750 km/h. The maximum takeoff weight of this aircraft can be 17.6 tons, with a crew of 1 person.