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.
Runway lights create a moody atmosphere around this Bulgarian Air Force Su-25K., Via Bulgarian Air ForceEven 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.
