State company Rostec of the russian defense industry announced another modernization to their Su-25 attack aircraft. Despite this plane being in service for more than 50 years and plans to gradually replace it with more universal Su-34 and the combat version of Yak-130, russians apparently still look for ways to improve the aging Su-25 model.
Worth recalling, over the years of Su-25 in service, this aircraft was upgraded to the Su-25SM3 version, with better avionics, integration of precision-guided weapons and the Gefest system – basically a digital bomb aiming system. In addition, it got a SOLT-25 targeting system with a thermal imager and the Vitebsk-25 self-protection system against missiles, primarily enemy MANPADS.
Read more: Strange Solution for Shelling Adjustment With UMPK Guided Bombs Applied by russians, Revealed by Ukrainian Counter-Espionage
Currently, all the available information about the new upcoming upgrade is limited to the statement by Rostec Deputy Chairman Vladimir Artyakov who said his company "will continue enhancing the aircraft using the experience gained in the 'SVO' zone, including the integration of new weapons." (for reference, SVO stands for the "Special Military Operation" which is the formal name for the invasion of Ukraine, used in russia).
Given the official statements by russians that the Su-25SM3 already can carry guided weapons such as the KAB-500, we assume the new upgrade will include the capability of carrying and launching glide bombs that became a trend in russia and are actively used against Ukrainian military forces and civilian infrastructure.
Here we should remember that there is no mass production of Su-25 in russia. In the USSR, this role was almost exclusive to the Tbilisi Aviation Factory, while the aviation plant in Ulan-Ude only made a small number of Su-25UB trainers. That is, each Su-25 destroyed in Ukraine becomes an irreversible loss for the russian military.
That is one of the possible reasons behind the plans of belarussian governor Lukashenko to establish production of Su-25s in his country, although apparently, he misspelled it for "MiG-25."
As of April this year, his project was at the stage of documentation transfer from russia to belarus. The experience of the Tbilisi factory shows that the establishment of Su-25 manufacture is a large-scale and multi-year task to accomplish.
Read more: Belarus Wants to Produce the Mig-25 Attack Aircraft: They Say russia Has Handed Over the Documentation
