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On July 23, the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The footage confirmed the destruction of the aircraft.
The Su-25 of the Russian Aerospace Forces was shot down with MANPADS. The incident reportedly took place in the Pokrovsk direction.
The pilot ejected and was immediately evacuated by Russian search and rescue teams. Unofficial Russian sources confirmed the reports.
Despite Ukraine‘s claimed victories, this is the first Russian aircraft downed in recent months.
The Su-25 entered service in 1987, but currently the Russian Aerospace Forces is armed with its deeply modernized version — the Su-25SM3.
The attack aircraft are used in Ukraine to defeat the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the front line and in the near rear of Ukrainian defense. Their goal is to provide fire support to ground units. They can destroy almost any equipment, artillery, manpower, engineering structures. The attack aircraft usually fire unguided aircraft missiles and instantly perform a maneuver with the shooting of heat traps. They may approach the target and launch strikes several times, and then return to the airfield.
The aircraft mainly operate in pairs in Ukraine. While one aircraft is shelling the enemy’s position, the second is securing the operation.
Su-25 pilots fly at extremely low altitudes, which reduces the likelihood of their detection and defeat by air defense systems. They also enter the combat launch line at maximum speeds.
