Lugansk attacked by Ukrainian Air Force

The city of Lugansk in the easternmost part of the ex-Ukraine has been attacked by Ukrainian combat aircraft.  See for yourself:


The aircraft in question is a Sukhoi-25, a close air support aircraft which might well become the major threat for the NDF in the next few days or weeks.

The Su-25 is very hard to shoot down.  It's cabin is armored and its widely separated engines are both equipped with highly survivable ans redundant systems.

Unlike the Ukrainian artillery the Su-25 can be used for very precise strikes but unlike the Ukrainian attack helicopters the Su-25 is extremely maneuverable and comparatively fast.

The Su-25 can fire guided and unguided missiles and bombs, it has a powerful dual 30mm gun and all sorts of pods, guidance systems and radars can be attacked to it.  In other words, and just like the formidable US A-10, the Su-25 is an ugly but extremely effective close air support aircraft and if the Ukrainians can find enough of these in semi-decent condition and if they can find enough pilots willing to fly them, then this could be very bad news for the NDF who would have to put a lot of effort into defending their airspace from these extremely capable attackers.

The Saker