The Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot is a single-seat, twin-engine, ground attack aircraft. (Photo Russian defense ministry)
Originally appeared at Defensetech
Iraq appears to have received its latest batch of Su-25s ground attack aircraft from Russia to aid in the air war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Recent satellite imagery indicates at least a handful of the Sukhoi Frogfoots arrived in recent months to Al-Rashid air base, according to Offiziere.ch, a Swiss military blog.
In April, Russia delivered three of the close-air-support aircraft to Iraq at its request; five aircraft were first delivered in June 2014 after the U.S. delayed its delivery of F-16s. Later that year, Iraq received yet another batch of “five to eight” Su-25s, with local media claiming they were gifted fromneighboring Iran.
The imagery obtained in July by Offiziere shows 21 of the aircraft, comparable to the U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II. They remain on the flightline at Al-Rashid.
In May, Russia said 30 of its Su-25s flew home following an earlier announcement it would withdraw its attack planes from Syria. The warplane was heavily used after it deployed to Syria in September 2015.
The Frogfoots have been in service for three decades, with significant upgrades to the Sukhoi Su-25SM3 variant ongoing. Iraq first deployed the CAS aircraft during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War.
The following video posted June 22 on Twitter purports to show Iraqi air force Su-25 jets striking ISIS targets east of Ramadi.
