The 80th OShAP, assigned to the Trans-Caucasian Military District, was the first combat unit of the revived attack aircraft fleet of the frontal aviation branch of the VVS. This two-squadron unit was established in February 1981 and stationed at Sital-Chai airfield in present-day Azerbaijan, not far from the city of Baku. The initial cadre of pilots had already been deployed to the Lipetsk-based 4th Combat Training and Aircrew Conversion Centre in February 1981 for the theoretical phase of the Su-25 conversion-to-type, thus the regiment immediately started preparing for its anticipated combat deployment to Afghanistan. Once in the theater, the unit would conduct an official, extensive evaluation of the Su-25 in actual combat circumstances. Operation Examen was the codename for this incident.
By May 1981, one squadron of the 80th OShAP was equipped with a fleet of 11 production-standard Su-25s and one experimental T8-6. These jets were assigned sequential serial numbers ranging from 01 to 12. The regiment’s original 12 Su-25s that were added to its strength were also transferred to the unit. On June 12, 1981, the newly established independent squadron and its full fleet of Su-25s arrived at Shindand Airfield.
AFGHANISTAN WAR THEATRE
As a direct result of Soviet involvement in the country’s civil conflict in late 1979, Su-25s were in Afghanistan. The Marxist government in Kabul had frequently requested further military aid and direct Soviet involvement during that year. Hafizullah Amin, the prime minister of Afghanistan, formally requested in the fall of 1979 that the Soviet Union use military force to repress the armed opposition and support his authority.
After giving up, the Soviet Union made the disastrous choice to send a small military force into Afghanistan. In the end, the nearly ten-year occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Army failed to stabilize the nation or subdue the armed opposition, which had received significant backing from the West and a few resourceful Islamic countries. The brutal internal strife in Afghanistan was only made worse by the Soviet intervention.
As a result, by the beginning of the 1980s, the Soviet military apparatus found itself fighting an extended and bloody war of attrition that it ultimately failed to win. The majority of the missions flown by the 200th OShAE were either carried out in northern Afghanistan, notably in the infamous Pandjsher Valley, where the Soviet Army launched up to 12 offensives but was unable to establish effective control, or in southern Afghanistan around Kandahar. The Su-17s were employed to locate and mark the targets with smoke bombs when striking pre-planned objectives while operating in mixed packages. Additionally, they repressed the Mujahedeen’s anti-aircraft arsenal, which at the time was mainly made up of DShK 12.7 mm heavy machine guns taken from the government.
Two or three pairs of Su-25 aircraft would fly over the target to drop bombs on the smoke markers a minute after the Su-17s had finished their strafing pass. Su-25 pilots operated in one or two pairs and used the surprise strategy when attacking targets in steep terrain. In the second attack pass, they exchanged roles. Initially, the leader attacked while the wingman provided an overhead cover.
Su-25 WEAPONRY
Initially, Su-25s frequently utilized the S-5 family of 57 mm rockets in Afghanistan, firing the weapons from UB-32M 32-round packs to hit local targets. It was soon realized, nevertheless, that these straightforward and light missiles had little destructive force, particularly in mountainous areas. The 57 mm rockets were duly replaced by the S-8 80 mm rockets, which were fired from 20-round B8M packs and were far more effective and powerful. Due to its impressively high accuracy and effective 120 kg high-explosive/fragmentation warhead, S-24 240 mm rockets were mostly employed to eliminate point targets.
The rocket could attack targets with a diameter of fewer than 50 feet and had an optimal launch range of roughly 6560 feet.
The 200 kg fragmentation/blast warhead on the S-25OF was more powerful and detonated by a contact fuse. The largest fragmentation/blast warhead to give the weapon penetrating capability was found on the S-25OFM. It was equipped with a contact fuse and could destroy tough targets.
The fragmentation/HE OFAB-100-120 and OFAB-250M54, as well as the more powerful blast-type FAB-500M56 or FAB-500M62 and RBK-250 and RBK-500 cluster bombs, were the primary general-purpose bombs employed by the Su-25 in Afghanistan. The ZB-500 napalm canister, which was used to assault nearby targets, was another weapon that was frequently deployed. The podded twin-barrel GSh-23L cannon with 250 rounds in SPPU-22-01 gun pods was more regularly utilized during the early years of the war in Afghanistan, while the built-in VPU-17A gun pack was considered a last-ditch armament and only occasionally used in action.
Without it, the Su-25 could only operate against targets within a 127-mile radius, and such missions were few. In the early years of the war, the 200th OShAE Su-25s were subjected to some severe operational constraints, mostly because of the aircraft’s faulty navigation system. As a result, it was forbidden for the “Frogfoot” community to fly combat in inclement weather or at night.
The Su-25’s ability to be serviced, pre-flight checked, and re-armed quickly was one of its main advantages. In fact, the preparation time for a four-aircraft flight was only 25 minutes, and for an eight-aircraft mission, it was only 40 minutes. Out of the 12 aircraft that the 200th OShAE deployed, nine or 10 were typically available for operations each day.
SECOND ROTATION PERIOD
The 80th OShAP, led by Maj Vladimir Khanarin, provided the air- and ground crews for the 200th OShAE’s second rotation, which ran from September 1982 to early October 1983. Early in October, the first familiarization sorties were reported after the new troops had been deployed to Shindand; ten days later, the first combat flights began. For striking missions, one four-aircraft flight was typically assigned, but two flights were occasionally required.
A nearby armored personnel carrier may be destroyed by the huge blast and heat produced by the detonation of the liquid explosive after it had spread over the ground in a gaseous condition and mixed with the air. The primary blast wave that was projected outward after detonation was followed by a secondary one that was going in the opposite direction to alternately destroy targets. This kind of bomb also had the deadly consequence of consuming all the oxygen in the air around it, which quickly killed everyone in proximity.
In addition, multiple so-called “shuttle” missions were carried out by 200th OShAP aircrews, who left their permanent station at Shindand to plant mines along a number of mountain trails near Kabul before returning to land at Bagram for resupply and rearmament.
The 2 December 1982 issue of Flight International magazine featured the first piece in the West’s specialized aviation press about the new Soviet attack aircraft operating in Afghanistan. Under the heading “Frogfoot in action against Afghan rebels,” it was stated that British reporters from an Independent Television crew touring the Mujahedeen-held territory had been able to capture Su-25s while they were hitting an Afghan town. Although it resembled Northrop’s A-9, which had lost out to the A-10 in the USAF’s AX competition, the new attack jet was described as the Soviet version of the Fairchild A-10.
FIRST LOSS
A well-known intrinsic design flaw, notably poor controllability in banks at high speeds due to excessive control column forces induced by the manually actuated ailerons, was the major issue Su-25 pilots faced in the air during the aircraft’s early years of regular deployment in Afghanistan. As previously mentioned, this led to severe operational restrictions being imposed on the T8 throughout its test and evaluation phase, including a top speed limit of 530 mph and turning limits of 5g. On December 14, 1981, the 200th OShAE suffered their first Su-25 loss due to ineffective ailerons.
In a diving attack while exceeding the 530 mph speed restriction, Capt. Mikhail Dyakov was unable to stop the strong accidental banking brought on by the nonsymmetrical 500-kilogram bomb separation. Because Dyakov had not tried to bail out, the unstable aircraft spun upside down, failed to recover from the descent, and slammed into the ground, killing him. After examining the information recovered from the aircraft’s Tester-U3 magnetic-type crash-survivable flight data recorder, it was determined that the loss of control in the bank was the primary cause of the accident, which had previously been attributed to enemy heavy machine gun fire.
A brand-new 4th Series “Frogfoot” was supplied to the squadron that same month to replace the Su-25 that had been lost in April, while another aircraft was brought back to the Tbilisi facility so that its fuselage could be fixed after suffering substantial deformation from heavy fuel leaking. Early in January 1984, the 200th OShAE permanently relocated to Bagram. On the 16th, not long after, the unit lost its third Su-25 in Afghanistan. During a four-aircraft mission to bomb fortified enemy positions close to the city of Urgun, Maj. Ruban’s jet was struck by a surface-to-air missile, a 9K32 Strela-2M developed in the Soviet Union, as it was coming in for a landing after a bombing run.
The missile seriously damaged the aircraft’s engines and control system, sending the aircraft into an uncontrollable roll. As the bank angle approached nearly 90 degrees, Ruban attempted to eject, but it was too late and he was at a too-low altitude. As a result, the parachute did not open, and Ruban suffered fatal injuries when he impacted the ground.
Maj. Pyotr Ruban received the highest military decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union, the Golden Star of Hero of the Soviet Union, for his exceptional combat accomplishments and was posthumously promoted to lieutenant colonel. In late September 1984, the 200th OShAE underwent its fourth personnel rotation. This time, the 90th OShAP, which had acquired its first Su-25s in 1983, was the second VVS regiment to convert to the Su-25. The regiment later relocated to Artsiz, Ukraine, however, at the time it was stationed at Tiraspol Airfield in the Odesa Military District.
Lt Col Nikolay Shapovalov was in charge of this personnel rotation, which brought ten brand-new 6th Series Su-25s that had just been delivered to the unit in July and August, to Bagram. Under the guidance of seasoned veterans from the third rotation, who eventually made their way back to the Soviet Union on September 30, the new rotation’s pilots with the 200th OShAE conducted their first combat missions. Three days prior, the new aircrews of the 200th OShAE had formally begun independent combat missions.
Nine of the squadron’s new 6th Series “Frogfoots” saw a lot of combat as they were flown for several months with the seven remaining 1st Series aircraft. Four more Su-25s from the 6th Series arrived on October 12 to bolster the 200th OShAE’s fleet even further, and two more Su-25s from the 5th Series soon after.
Su-25 ‘Frogfoot’ Units in Combat is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.