The Su-25 Frogfoot is hardly glamorous. In fact, it is a damn ugly specimen in its demo of tactical jets—although the Russians have made much worse. Like the American A-10 Warthog, the Su-25 was built with one mission primarily in mind: close air support. The type was distributed throughout the former Soviet Union in the 1980s and to about two dozen other countries. More than a thousand Frogfoots were built.
There’s still demand for the Su-25s, which have proven valuable in the shadow-war in Ukraine and the ongoing fight against ISIS in Iraq.
Bulgaria’s small air arm continues to operate about a dozen Frogfoots, and the tensions between Russia and NATO have brought Bulgaria’s Su-25 community closer to America’s A-10 community than ever before.
Even with such a small fleet size, Bulgaria is proud of its “down and dirty” Su-25 force. Hence the amazing pictures posted over at the Bulgarian Air Force’s Facebook page. They were taken to celebrate Bezmer Air Base’s new runway, which is what Bulgaria’s Frogfoots call home.
Contact the author Tyler@thewarzone.com