Russia's Su‑25 jet crash: Pilot survives amid engine failure
A Su-25 fighter jet crashed in Russia's Maritime Province, the Russian defence ministry reported. The pilot survived. The crash was reportedly due to a failure of both engines.
According to the defence department, the fighter jet malfunctioned because of a technical fault during a "scheduled training flight," which was conducted without weapons.
Series of crashes in Russia
The crash occurred in an uninhabited area. The pilot managed to eject and survived. He was found and evacuated by a search-and-rescue team. He was not injured.
According to the Fighterbomber channel on the Telegram service, which is associated with the Aerospace Forces, the cause of the crash was a failure of both engines.
The armoured subsonic attack aircraft Su-25, known as "Grach," has been in operation since 1981. It is equipped with a twin-barrel 30-millimetre GSh-30-2 aircraft cannon and can carry aerial bombs. The aircraft is designed for supporting ground troops and destroying targets in all weather conditions.
Its maximum speed is 950 km/h, and its flight range is about 600 km.
This is already the second combat aviation crash in a week. On March 18, in the Leningrad region, a Mi-28 helicopter crashed. The ministry of defence stated that it was performing a scheduled training flight. Both crew members were killed. No one on the ground was harmed.
Since the start of the war against Ukraine, at least six Su-25s have crashed in Russia.
Ukraine attacks Russian airfield
The Russian Aerospace Forces include 14 squadrons equipped with Su-25s. The total number of aircraft is around 200. Over 80 of them have been upgraded to the Su-25SM version.
A few days ago, Kyiv also attacked a temporary Russian airfield in the Belgorod region, destroying two Ka-52 helicopters and two Mi-8 helicopters.
