Posted on 10/15/2015 8:22:03 AM PDT by upbeat5
Russian Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack planes perform during the Aviadarts military aviation competition at the Dubrovichi range near Ryazan, Russia, August 2, 2015.
As the Syrian military begins its push to take back opposition-held areas in northwestern Syria, Russia has provided backing through an intensifying aerial campaign.
Among the planes Moscow has used to back the Syrian military's attempted advance is a Russian combat aircraft that some have compared to the US's venerated A-10 Warthog.
The Russian Su-25 Frogfoot is a low-flying tank-like plane that specializes in providing aerial cover and attacking ground targets.
The Frogfoot is a sturdy plane, and according to The National Interest, the plane can keep flying after suffering damage while striking targets with precision-guided munitions.
These systems make it ideal for the kind of operation that the Assad regime and its Russian partners are trying to launch against the opposition.
The Russian air force will use the Frogfoots to support the Assad regime in the same way the USAF is using the A-10 Warthog to support the Iraqi government, a former US Air Force aviator told The National Interest.
Russian state-owned media outlet RT reports that since Tuesday Kremlin forces have carried out 40 airstrikes against rebel and ISIS forces throughout five Syrian provinces. The majority of these strikes occurred around the city of Aleppo and in the neighboring province of Idlib, which is completely under opposition control.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Sorry, I can still seem ‘em. I’m not sure what the issue is. Anyone else having problems of these images displaying?
I read the book about 45 years ago.
They need some VW engineers to code their missiles.
It’s tough like a tank. Titanium tub for the pilot. Redundant hydraulics. Operates in primitive conditions.
LOL!..For less smoke?...........................
I think it was about the same time, around when I was in college. Recently I’ve been reading some WWII memoirs from Russians and Germans about eastern front fighting, particularly armored fighting. Really hairy and scary. Didn’t matter if you were in a T34, a Tiger, or a Panther, you ran a hell of a good chance of being trapped in your machine and burned alive. Indeed, the speed with which tanks on both sides were knocked off in major actions was appalling.
Like some other posters mentioned: In ground attack, a gun is usually the easiest way to take out a target (not including big items like bridges or tough bunkers), and this is still true even in the era of guided bombs being universal on U.S. aircraft, and probably somewhat common with Russian planes. The A-10’s cannon has about 2-3X the rate of fire, 44% more muzzle energy, and holds about 5X the ammo. The A-10s straight wing is also easier to fly and more efficient at the lower speeds of ground attack. So the SU-25 and other swept-wing jets can do the job, it’s just harder to pick out objects in the ground when you are flying faster and can’t simply point your nose at the target and hose it down with the world’s largest Gatling gun. So the A-10 is more efficient at the job.
Gee, the SU-25 looks very much like the Northrup A-9, the aircraft that lost out to the A-10:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Northrop_A-9A_at_touchdown.jpg
That’s more than entire division of tanks. 400 tanks to a division, generally.
Impressive. The tanks were likely Russian, I would imagine.
Roger that!
Best flying weapon ever short of nukes.
The USAF would not like it either as it isn’t stealthy... at all!
Hans-Ulrich Rudel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-Ulrich_Rudel
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