Ukrainian National Guard Downs Russian Su-25 Fighter Bomber with Igla MANPAD

The National Guard of Ukraine reported via Telegram that its soldiers had downed a Russian Su-25 ground attack aircraft in the Donetsk region.

“The guards discovered an enemy Su-25, also known as the Grach [Rook], making a combat sortie,” the Friday, June 28 post says.

A team from the 31st brigade of the National Guard used an Igla MANPAD launcher to take on and successfully hit the Russian aircraft.

“The Su-25 attack aircraft was downed with a well-aimed shot,” the report said.

Almost two years after the start of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the use of Igla MANPADS to destroy enemy aircraft and helicopters has become commonplace.

Each Igla MANPADS system consists of a single-use transport and launch container, a launch mechanism, and a built-in radar interrogator for identifying friendly and enemy aircraft.

The container houses a single-stage anti-aircraft guided missile with a solid-fuel motor and a infra-red homing head, along with a launch engine that propels the missile from the container.

When using such MANPADS, the operator uses the optical sight on the launcher to identify and then track the air target until it is captured by the missile's homing head.

As soon as the infrared radiation from the air target is detected by the receiver of the homing head, visual and sound indicators alert the operator that the target has been fixed and captured. The operator then decides when to launch the anti-aircraft missile, which autonomously tracks and hits the target.

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The video of the incident released by the National Guard is of poor quality, preventing. Kyiv Post from independently verifying the date and location of the footage. The report did not specify when exactly the encounter took place, although the video is date-stamped as June 23, 2024.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) reported the downing of another Russian aircraft on Friday morning. without specify the type or location of the shoot

The Su-25 is a single-seat armored subsonic attack aircraft designed to provide close air support in combat zones during day and night under poor visibility and adverse weather conditions.

Targets can include ground and surface objectives, as well as low-altitude, slow-moving air targets.

In February this year alone there were reports of a series of Su fighter bombers being shot down in Ukraine a total to 12 Su planes were downed in 13 days along with an A-50U radar aircraft.

The Sukhoi Su-34 (NATO: Fullback) is Russia's premier frontline fighter bomber, designed primarily for launching laser-guided bombs or long-range guided missiles in precision strikes on ground targets. Equipped with radar for using modern Russian air-to-air missiles, the Su-34, priced at around $36 million each, is one of the Russian military's costliest aircraft.

However, Forbes reported at the time that Ukraine might soon exhaust its top-tier air defense missiles due to their role in shooting down Russian fighter aircraft. However, since then, Kyiv’s partners have increased the supply of missiles with more promised.

The repeated destruction of its aircraft is a significant setback for Russian forces, who struggle to produce more than a few dozen new warplanes each year due to foreign sanctions. Forbes assessed that they are losing combat aircraft 20 times faster than they could replace them.

Forbes speculated that Ukraine's air-defense success might be attributed to deploying US-made Patriot missile launchers, 25-mile-range NASAMS surface-to-air missile batteries, and others more aggressively.