Trial By Fire

The Su-25 "Frogfoot" is the Russian analog to the USAF's A-10*, a close support aircraft intended to operate low and slow and rely on armor and countermeasures to protect it from ground fire and SAMs.

They had a reputation for toughness from their performance in Afghanistan, but fighting against insurgents who get the occasional crate of Stingers from the CIA isn't really the same as close air support in contested airspace over the Fulda Gap if you know what I mean.

The Russo-Ukrainian war is the closest thing we've had to real peer combat with modern arms in a while, and the "low, slow armored tankbuster" concept is taking a beating.

*Actually, it's more similar to the Northrop YA-9, the Warthog's main competitor in the A-X competition.