Although the Soviets wanted a plane with an ever greater performance during the Cold War, they also developed the “Su-25”, known to NATO as the “Frogfoot.”
Here are the five things that you need to know about this iconic plane:
1. Unlike the other jets in the era that are supersonic, this aircraft was subsonic
By 1975, the prototype of the SU-25 called the T8 had its first flight.
2. Also described as the flying tank, the SU-25 is one of the armored aircraft even flying to this day
The cockpit is inside the titanium top with an additional thick steel head protection. Furthermore, the underside is additionally protected with plates on the front landing gear doors.
3. Its engines are separated by a fuselage and made to work completely autonomously
In case one is damaged or destroyed, the pilot has control over the aircraft and can still land safely.
4. During the development phase, hundreds of tests were done with different caliber weapons firing at the SU-25
One of them even featured dropping warheads into a working engine.
5. One of the craziest things about this plane is that it can run on diesel
The Soviets really wanted a plane that could be used anywhere, anytime. During the development phase, the main requirement is that this plane can take off or land from almost any flat patch of surface, be it a road, a runway, or a field.
It was also built to be a plane that’s easy to control and fit for pilots with less skill, and easy to repair.