Ukraine has asked the US for Soviet-made Su-25 attack aircraft

MOSCOW, ($1=85.75 Russian Rubles) — The Ukrainian leadership asked the United States to provide Kyiv with Su-25 attack aircraft as part of military assistance. This was reported on Wednesday [March 30] by the television company CNN, the Russian online portal Nezavisimaya Gazeta said.

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A corresponding request from the Ukrainian side was submitted to the US Congress last Tuesday, clarifies CNN. The document, according to her, provides a list of weapons and other types of assistance requested by Kyiv. We are talking, in particular, about drones, artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank systems, anti-ship weapons, and surveillance systems.

“The list also includes combat aircraft, specifically the Su-25, a Russian-made attack aircraft,” CNN notes. Earlier, Washington rejected Warsaw’s offer to transfer to Kyiv the Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets at its disposal by transferring them from a base in Germany to Ukraine.

On March 6, the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov, said that the use of the airfield network of neighboring countries for basing Ukrainian military aviation with subsequent use against the Russian armed forces could be considered as the involvement of these states in an armed conflict.

Sukhoi Su-25

The Su-25 attack aircraft is a Soviet production from the 1970s. In 1981 he joined the USSR. Many former socialist countries during the Cold War were aircraft operators. The Su-25 has been involved in all military conflicts from 1980 to the present day.

The base model Su-25 incorporates several key avionics systems. It has no TV guidance but includes a distinctive nose-mounted laser rangefinder, which is thought to provide for laser-based target finding. A DISS-7 doppler radar is used for navigation; the Su-25 can fly at night, in visual and instrument meteorological conditions.

The Su-25 often has radios installed for air-to-ground and air-to-air communications, including a SO-69 identification-friend-or-foe [IFF] transponder. The aircraft’s self-defense suite includes various measures, such as flare and chaff dispensers capable of launching up to 250 flares and dipole chaff. Hostile radar uses are guarded against via an SPO-15 radar warning receiver.

The armament of the Su-25 consists of one 30 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-2 autocannon with 250 rounds, and one SPPU-22 gun pod for two 23 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 autocannons with 260 rounds, FAB series bombs, including KAB-500KR guided bomb, air-to-air and air-to-ground missile.

What did the United States send?

As we already reported yesterday, Pentagon said Congress had been notified of a new package of military aid to Ukraine. For the first time, it includes “laser-guided missiles”, and the total value of the new package will be up to $ 300 million.

Here’s what the new delivery from Washington to Kyiv includes:

• Laser-guided missiles – although their type is not specified, they are most likely 70 mm APKWS missiles. Although these missiles are designed as air-to-ground weapons [for airplanes, helicopters, and UAVs], they can also be fired from the ground, including 4×4 light vehicles. They have a range of up to 5 km and can hit various ground targets such as armored personnel carriers or light fortifications;
• Switchblade drones – this is another batch of American circulating ammunition that will be delivered to the Ukrainian army. The lighter Switchblade 300 has a range of 10 km and a flight duration of 15 minutes, while the heavier Switchblade 600 has a range of 80 km and a flight duration of 40 minutes. Both are manufactured by AeroVironment and have been in operation relatively recently;
• Puma unmanned aerial vehicles – light reconnaissance vehicles, weighing several kg and with a range of 20 to 60 km, depending on the configuration;
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Control Systems [C-UAS];
• HMMWV armored vehicles;
• “Non-standard” ammunition of different types, maybe post-Soviet systems;
• machine guns, without specifying which ones;
• Commercial satellite imagery services;
• Spare parts, field, and medical equipment;
• Thermal, optical equipment, night vision equipment, and secure connectivity.

According to the Pentagon, the total value of military aid that the United States decided to provide during the Biden administration has exceeded $ 2.3 billion, most of which came after the start of full-scale Russian aggression.

In addition to the aforementioned equipment, there are, among other things, Javelin anti-tank kits, Stinger anti-aircraft guns, and anti-tank grenade launchers.

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