Jump to content

SU-25 Frogfoot currently in russian service


Recommended Posts

Hi all

I'm currently building the 1/32 Trumpeter SU-25 Frogfoot.  I initially wanted to do a frogfoot from the afghan war in the 80s, but now I'm leaning towards doing a current frogfoot deployed to operations in Syria.

My question is are there any major external differences in the upgraded modern frogfoot to that of the afghan war version and are there any obvious cockpit differences in the modern frogfoot as I assume they have have undergone extensive upgrades over that time.

Any information most appreciated

 

Also out of interest, how do the frogfoot pilots deliver unguided rockets accurately onto targets from altitudes of up to 20,000 feet?

Many thanks

Edited by Modelkeenfan
Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, there are visual differences and internal changes in the cockpit. 

This is the basic version of the Su-25.

1509910203118471922.jpg

There is a variant of the Su-25BM - a target towing vehicle. It has additional air intakes on the nacelle

150991068819545628.jpg

The Su-25SM removed the last underwings points, removed the RSBN close navigation antenna-feeder system (AFS RSBN) and the VHF transmitter antenna from the tail fin. The engines are the same.

150991074417384196.jpg

260779.jpg

The latest modern version, the Su-25SM3, differs from the Su-25SM in the antenna on the tail boom and also in the attachments on the tail boom.

1509911011119094781.jpg

This is the cockpit of the Su-25SM3

http://www.airwar.ru/image/idop/attack/su25sm3/su25sm3-5.jpg

http://forums.airforce.ru/attachments/matchast/90159d1547851702-000139094120_rian-id-5756059.jpg

CLKKbSHY1eo.jpg

Containers of the electronic warfare system "Vitebsk" appeared under the wings

IMG_1220-5b5df0abd8572.jpg

Db93K5LX4AEXDwV.jpg

Edited by Sergei Galicky, Russia
Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Tracy White said:

Are there any good resources that might cover typical weapons loadouts for Russian aircraft in Syria? How about for Roman Filipov's last flight?

I came across a russian TV documentary the other night and it had an English speaking narrator so everything the russian journalist asked and the answers given by the pilots were given in English by the narrator.  The journalist was not only covering the frogfoot and it's pi!it's but all the aircraft the Russians were using on that air base.  The pilots even showed the journalist what they carried in their "bra" as they called it like the sidearm ect and I think one pilot said they carried 8 extra magazines for their sidearm!!!!  I guess from lessons learnt in afghanistan where there were stories of downed pilots  not having enough ammunition.  Plus the pilot said he carried an assault rifle in the cockpit of his frogfoot.  I assume this was down the side of his ejection seat and would assume it was an AK74SU as it was filmed in 2017.  I found thst interesting as I didn't know the pilots carried them

 

The loadouts were shown on the frogfoots and they had cameras in the cockpits and on the wing tips showing a sortie being conducted.  They were at 20,000 feet and spotted an IS training facility and they were going into dives firing unguided rockets at that height and the pilots were quite accurate which amazed me.  But most of the frogfoot loadouts were all unguided missiles or dumb bombs.  I found that strange.  Maybe the Russians don't want to spend any money on guided munitions.  But I find it odd they have the upgraded SU-25 SM and yet only using unguided weapons of dumb bombs.  Maybe someone on the forum knows why and can tell us?

 

Ill try and dig out the link to the documentary and I'll post it here.  It was very interesting and gave a insight into the russian operations in Syria.

 

The documentary was made by TV Zvezda which apparently is a state owned mi!itary TV channel in Russia.  The link is   

 

Edited by Modelkeenfan
Link to post
Share on other sites
8 minutes ago, Modelkeenfan said:

Maybe the Russians don't want to spend any money on guided munitions.  But I find it odd they have the upgraded SU-25 SM and yet only using unguided weapons of dumb bombs.  Maybe someone on the forum knows why and can tell us?

 

Why not? The upgrades have much improved the precision of delivering unguided weapons from various angles and the targets for the Su-25 missions against IS are infantry, light vehicles, light infrastructure, etc. with no serious AAA capabilities. So, not only it's cheaper, but there's also practically nothing to shoot the guided missiles at.

Edited by ijozic
Link to post
Share on other sites

Why not just drop a precision munition on it and that's the end of that.  Using unguided rockets a bit like playing pin the tail on the donkey.  But if you use a guided munition, you are guaranteed the target is destroyed.  It's also like the Mig-29 SMT.  All the photos of them in Syria show them carrying FAB 500s.  So here is one of Russia's most advanced fighter aircraft using dumb bombs. I haven't seen any pictures of any russian aircraft carrying any precision guided munitions.  I also find this strange considering the war in Syria has had so many civilian casualties from air strikes.  Perhaps not using guided munitions has contributed this?  A lot of airstrikes have also been in built up areas, not just dusty old camps in the middle if the desert.

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd also think that the war on terror would be the perfect opportunity for all the countries involved in fighting these cowardly terror groups to test your latest technology against them and also as a testing bed for using your latest precision munitions that produce the least collateral damage.

 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

The trouble with unguided munitions is that you have to get closer and lower to the target and fly a predictable pattern making the airplane more vulnerable to ground fire. Even though it's a flying tank 🙂

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, pollie said:

The trouble with unguided munitions is that you have to get closer and lower to the target and fly a predictable pattern making the airplane more vulnerable to ground fire. Even though it's a flying tank 🙂

 

Yeah, but as I said, in the missions against small IS groups prowling in the middle of a desert (which is like 99% of the targets for Su-25s there), what ground fire would that be except small arms and occasional HMGs mounted on a pickup truck? There had been no Russian Su-25 losses from ground fire against IS, AFAIK which supports my point. The one shot down was by a MANPADS missile over Idlib, but that's different as it's not IS and some of those rebel groups get weapons from Turkey.

 

Rocket pods are the most effective weapons for those targets, plus some bombs if they're dug in.

Edited by ijozic
Link to post
Share on other sites

It's said that ISIS has the following man portable ground to air weapons and ISIS shot down a Mi-35 chopper with a stinger in 2014

 

9K32 Strela (russian made)

9K38 Igla (russian made)

Hwasong Chong (north Korean)

FN6 (Chinese made)

FIM92 (good old stinger) (US made)

 

And they reportable have AZP S-60 AAA gun (russian made)

 

So I think there is a very real threat to aircraft attacking ISIS Targets.  Plus remember when ISIS  took over Ramadi in Iraq, the Iraqi troops just did runner and left all their equipment behind including M1 Abrams tanks.  So who knows what ISIS captured from them.

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Modelkeenfan said:

So I think there is a very real threat to aircraft attacking ISIS Targets.  Plus remember when ISIS  took over Ramadi in Iraq, the Iraqi troops just did runner and left all their equipment behind including M1 Abrams tanks.  So who knows what ISIS captured from them.

 

I'm sure that the Russian Su-25 pilots flying CAS missions against them know best what they're facing and are armed accordingly.

 

IS in Syria isn't holding any inhabited territory anymore. They have withdrawn to central desert areas (plus minor cells in some cities) from which they wage a guerilla campaign which means mostly ambushes, attacks on checkpoints and outposts, etc. and from what's shown when their small ragtag units are beaten, their weaponry is mostly down to rusty AKs, old HMGs and RPGs.

Edited by ijozic
Link to post
Share on other sites

They would have weapons.  Maybe just hitting small desert areas doesn't bother them and they are keeping stuff for adding day.  They said the Taliban were beaten,that turned out to be untrue.  Weapons don't just disappear.  it is even rumoured that ISIS may even have SA3s.  But if ISIS do have these weapons, then flying at higher altitudes is a good idea.  Then this just makes using precision munitions a better option.  Especially even stand off munitions.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Also they say the pilots keep their AKs in the compartment of the seat where the inflatable boat usually goes?  Would that make the weapon hidden from view in the cockpit or would you be able to see the AK in the seat of you were you looking at the seat?

Link to post
Share on other sites
59 minutes ago, Modelkeenfan said:

Weapons don't just disappear.  it is even rumoured that ISIS may even have SA3s.  But if ISIS do have these weapons, then flying at higher altitudes is a good idea.  Then this just makes using precision munitions a better option.  Especially even stand off munitions.

 

SA-3s? OK, buddy.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes that's right. One SA3.  These Islamists are backed by very rich people.  A monthly salary for a soldier is about 50 US a month.  If an officer gets offered thoudands of dollars to sell off some military hardware, they do it in a flash. A large percentage of military hardware that is imported to these countries never sees its way to the mi!itary.  It just gets filtered off to the highest bidder.  Huge amounts of serious weaponary is believed to have been captured from the Syrian army such as up to 30 MBTs, APCs, Artillery pieces, anti-tank weapons to mention a few.

 

It was even reported in most newspapers around the world about the possible possession of the SA3.    I lived in the middle east for 10 years and everything works on corruption.  In my job I was paying off police on a daily basis to get things done and it was accepted by the company I worked for as a work expense.   Money in that part of the world makes it go round.  Anything is for sale at the right price due to the corruption.  No doubt they buy mi!itary hardware from corrupt mi!itary.  This part of the world is just the wild west..  

 The sheer amount of serious military hardware that has been captured by these islamic groups is unbelievable.  Tanks, APCs, anti tank weapons, artillery pieces and the list goes on. At one point they were rumoured to be looking for fast jet pilots.  So God knows what they have.

So my friend laugh if you wish, but if you have never visited a country in the middle east, I encourage you to do so.  

 

 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

My guess why they use dumb ammunition: It´s cheaper than guided ammunition and they don´t care much if they conflict collateral damage. Russia is not that rich, they are involved in several conflicts and I could think that sparing money is an issue.

 

 

HAJO

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...