Su-25 against the Mujahideen: why the attack aircraft of the USSR is still useful in the war in Ukraine
Focus translated an article by analyst Brandon J. Weichert for the National Interest about the features of the old Soviet Su-25 Frogfoot fighter. The fighter helped the Soviet army in the first years of the war with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, and 45 years later, it is still actively used in the Russian-Ukrainian war. In the article "How the Su-25 Frogfoot combat aircraft changed the Soviet experience in Afghanistan," the analyst explained why this happened.
The Afghan War (1979-1989) was a grueling counter-insurgency conflict that tested the strength of the USSR's military power and eventually broke it. Amidst the rugged mountains of the Hindu Kush, the ground forces had to deal with constant ambushes and supply interruptions, so the need for effective close air support aircraft became urgent. This is how the Sukhoi Su-25 appeared (according to the NATO classification - Frogfoot, i. e. "Frogfoot").
This durable attack aircraft is designed to deliver heavy fire damage with intense fire from the ground. The Su-25, nicknamed "Hrak" by Soviet pilots for its bird-like silhouette, played a key role in the war, flying more than 60,000 sorties and changing the dynamics of hostilities. Although the Soviet Union ultimately lost the war, the combat exploits of the "Rook" remain one of the few bright pages of the failed Soviet military campaign in Afghanistan.
The design of the Su-25 was optimized to perform close air support missions in the difficult terrain conditions typical of Afghanistan. Its armored titanium cockpit protected the pilot from 23 mm shells, and two Lyulka AL-21F3 turbojet engines provided reserve power and thrust for takeoffs from short, unpaved runways.
Thanks to the subsonic flight speed and the mechanization of the wings, it was possible to perform precise maneuvers at low altitude, which was extremely important for hitting targets among mountain peaks and valleys. Armament included the GSh-30-2 30mm air gun, bombs and missiles such as the S-8 and S-24, and later precision weapons such as the Kh-25ML missile.
Self-defense systems with dipole anti-radar reflectors and radar warning receivers even more reliably protected the aircraft from MANPADS of the American Stinger type. All these characteristics made "Hrak" a "flying tank", ideally suited for asymmetric threats during the Soviet-Afghan war.
The Su-25, developed in the late 1960s as a successor to the aging Su-17 and MiG-21 fighter-bombers, was to become a specialized attack aircraft of the USSR Ground Forces, a low-flying jet similar to the Il-2 of World War II. Development began in 1968 as part of the T-8 program of the Sukhoi OKB, and the first flight of the prototype took place on February 22, 1975. In 1981, the aircraft entered service.
More than a thousand units were produced, while special attention was paid to survivability in combat conditions. The combat baptism of the Su-25 in Afghanistan took place against the background of the escalation of the war in this conflict-torn country. In May 1980, the first two aircraft arrived for testing as part of Operation Exam, and already in June, the full 200th Separate Assault Aviation Squadron was transferred to Shindand airfield.
Sorties began on July 25, 1980, and their number gradually increased from four to five to eight per day. By 1982, the squadrons operated from Bagram and Shindand, providing the 5th Motorized Rifle Division with close air support against Mujahideen cave compounds, supply depots, and ambushes. Tactics developed quickly. The first operations were, in fact, "serial" attacks, when bombs were dropped on the valleys one after the other and rockets were launched.
But the insurgents' fire from the ground forced a change in tactics. Pilots switched to a "star" formation, flying around targets from different directions to deliver surprise strikes, or used parallel approaches from opposite directions to disorient the enemy. He often led the attacks, weakening enemy positions before the more vulnerable Mi-24 attack helicopters came into action.
In April 1986, the integration of laser-guided Kh-29 missiles into the Hrakiv arsenal made it possible to strike from high altitudes, reducing vulnerability to anti-aircraft and missile weapons. Despite the limitations in navigation, which prohibited flights at night or in bad weather, the aircraft's combat radius of 750 km, thanks to the outboard tanks, allowed it to fly from Kabul to remote border areas. Courageous sorties made the plane a legend of the Afghan war.
In one raid in 1987, a group of Su-25s disguised as An-12 heavy transport aircraft to mislead the Pakistani Mujahideen unleashed a barrage of fire across the border. On average, Soviet pilots made 360 sorties per year for each aircraft, completing a total of 60,000 missions against the rebels, which is why the Su-25 got the nickname "Hrak". Unfortunately for the Soviet Air Force, the Su-25 was not invincible.
The Mujahideen quickly developed countermeasures, bolstered by the supply of American Stinger missiles, which began arriving in 1986. They inflicted heavy losses on the Su-25 fleet: 23 aircraft were shot down by sniper fire, 12 died in accidents, and another 9 were destroyed on the ground in Kabul and Kandahar. The first Su-25 loss occurred on January 16, 1984, when a Mujahideen Strela-2 missile shot down a Hrak near Urgun.
Among the high-profile cases is the ejection of Colonel Oleksandr Rutskyi in August 1988 after his plane was hit by an anti-aircraft gun. The pilot was captured in Pakistan, and the wreckage of his downed plane reportedly went to American intelligence. These losses, which accounted for a quarter of the total Soviet aviation losses, highlighted the vulnerability in enemy-controlled airspace. However, the effectiveness of "Rook" ultimately outweighed all the failures.
The Soviet troops desperately needed an attack aircraft for close air support, capable of withstanding the high intensity of hostilities. They got it thanks to the Su-25. Its 4,000 kg payload caused serious losses to Mujahideen logistics, which allowed Soviet troops to penetrate deeper into the fortified areas of the partisans.
The modifications, based on experience in Afghanistan, included improved electronic warfare and weapons optimized for mountain conditions, which increased the survivability and flexibility of the "Rooks". The insurgents also adapted, dispersing forces and using false targets, but the very appearance of the plane forced them to change tactics, which emphasized its psychological advantage. The Afghan Su-25 school has become legendary.
By the time the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, the Su-25 had proven the concept of an attack aircraft, influencing later models such as the Su-39. Subsequently, he participated in combat operations in Chechnya, Syria and Ukraine, but it was his baptism in the Soviet-Afghan war, during 60 thousand sorties and heavy losses, that confirmed his status as an icon of close air support.
The use of the aircraft revealed the shortcomings of the integration of air and ground forces of the Soviet army, which prompted it to change its doctrine. Today, in the conditions of renewed confrontation between the superpowers, "Hrak" reminds us of the essence of air war: it is not only firepower, but also a constant presence in the chaos of the modern battlefield. Brandon J.