New photos published by the 299th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of Ukraine show at least one former Macedonian Su-25. It is the first time aircraft from this Balkan country are seen in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as noted by Ukraine Weapons Tracker.
Based on the following photo, we can say this aircraft has already entered service and will soon carry out missions against russian invaders.
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As a reminder, this Su-25 belongs to the group of four same aircraft that were Ukrainian back in the day. In 2001, the planes were sold to North Macedonia. They only made a few flights and then in 2004 were decommissioned and put in long-term storage. That is why when North Macedonia announced it would donate these jets back to Ukraine, the main suggestion was that they will be decomposed for spare parts.
But instead, they (at least the one in the photo) were modernized to the Su-25M1K standard. This type of aircraft was adopted by the Air Force of Ukraine in 2015. The modernization includes capital repairs, installation of a new sighting system, a satellite navigation receiver, modernized radio comms, and an Adros decoy flare dispenser, among other details upgrades.
Ukraine Weapons Tracker says this Su-25 was delivered to Ukraine in the spring of 2022 which sounds questionable because the official announcement only was declared in August of the same year. However, here we can recall the reports suggesting that the US managed to increase Ukraine's aircraft fleet by providing "spare parts" from disassembled Soviet planes. There is a chance Macedonian Su-25s may have been sent the same way back then.
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