SU-25 Frogfoot
In Team Yankee
Oh God. Rewriting this section to update for TY V2.
While previously considered a poor man's counterpart to the A-10, the Frogfoot now plays an important role as a tank hunter against the new NATO super tanks.
Soviet, WARPACT and Oilwar commanders should make ample use of the Frog's heavy anti-tank missiles to keep heavy tanks honest. A flight of 4-6 Frogs are now a practically mandatory investment in order to fight M1a1s and Challengers. The main armament of the Frogfoot is the KH-25 ATGM, boasting Guided and HEAT, meaning that it will never take penalties from range. Combined with Brutal, this makes the Kh-25 an excellent choice for turning infantry or (probably) light vehicles such as Chapperals inside out. Otherwise, AT27 ensures an auto penetration against most tanks at any range, and 2+ firepower ensures that anything hit stays dead. The downside to this undeniably powerful missile is simply that the USSR has other FAR more cost-effective options. Other weapons can be effectively ignored unless you're flexing on someone who forgot to bring anti-air.
Being unpredictable as all aircraft are, the Frog acts as a sword of Damocles to punish NATO players for getting cocky with their super tanks. While the new tanks still get a 6+ bail save vs the AT27 missiles, they still have great odds of knocking out an 18 point monster head on. In a pinch, the Frogs can be instead used to winkle out dug in infantry in support of an assault, but the 8" safety distance is a bummer.
Savvy pilots will learn to chart out weakspots in the opponent's AA umbrella (remember kids, premeasuring is not a war crime) and thread the needle to snipe tanks at maximum range. 28inches goes a long way towards hiding your somwhat fragile planes out of AA guns (but probably not missiles).
TLDR: Try hard. Get good. Turn tanks inside out.
IRL
The Sukhoi SU-25 "Frogfoot" has the distinction of being the only modern ground attack aircraft (meaning that the plane is almost incapable of performing any other missions such as reconnaissance or interception) besides the A-10 Warthog, with the close-air support role being performed by helicopters, drones or multi-role aircraft. The Soviets came to the same conclusions as the Americans when it came to what was needed for such an aircraft; the SU-25 has a heavily armored cockpit and fires a 30mm autocannon, as well as a variety of missiles and bombs. The SU-25 was used in the Soviet-Afghan wars, while its export variants have been used in various conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The SU25 uses a Gast gun mechanism instead of a Gatling gun. Rate of fire is slower but more accurate and the aircraft is more a multi-role aircraft than the A-10.
Also, if you're wondering why the hell it's called a 'Frogfoot', it's because that was its NATO reporting name. The idea is that the word is something unlikely to come up in casual conversation so if you said 'frogfoot' everybody would know what you're talking about. The "F" means it was an attack or fighter aircraft, and two-syllable means it was jet powered.
| Soviet Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T55AM2 - T-62M - T-64 - T-72 - T-80 - T-72B - T-64BV |
| Transports: | BTR-60 - BMP-1 - BMP-2 - BMP-3 -BMD-1 - BMD-2 - BTR-D |
| Troops: | Motor Rifle Company - Hind Assault Landing Company - Afghansty Air Assault Company - BMP Shock Motor Rifle Company - BMD Air Assault Company - Afghansty BMD Air Assault Platoon |
| Artillery: | 2S1 Carnation - 2S3 Acacia - BM-21 Hail - TOS-1 Buratino - BM-27 Uragan - 2S9 Nona - BM-37 82mm mortar platoon |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU 23-4 Shilka - SA-13 Gopher - SA-9 Gaskin - SA-8 Gecko - 2S6 Tunguska - BTR-ZD |
| Tank Hunters: | Spandrel - Storm - BTR-RD - ASU-85 |
| Recon: | BMP-1 OP - BRDM-2 |
| Aircraft: | SU-22 Fitter - SU-25 Frogfoot - MI-24 Hind |
| East German Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T-55 - T55AM2 - T-72M - T-72B |
| Transports: | BTR-60 - BMP-1 - BMP-2 |
| Troops: | Mot-Schützen Kompanie - Hind Assault Landing Company |
| Artillery: | 2S1 Carnation - BM-21 Hail - RM-70 - 2S3 Acacia |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU 23-4 Shilka - SA-13 Gopher - SA9 Gaskin - SA-8 Gecko |
| Tank Hunters: | Spandrel |
| Recon: | BMP-1 OP - BRDM-2 |
| Aircraft: | MI-24 Hind - SU-22 Fitter |
| Soviet Support: | SU-25 Frogfoot |
| Polish Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T-55 - T55AM2 - T-72M - T-72B |
| Transports: | SKOT-2A - BMP-1 - BMP-2 |
| Troops: | Zmotory Kompania - Hind Assault Landing Company |
| Artillery: | Dana SpGH - BM-21 Hail |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU 23-4 Shilka - SA-13 Gopher -SA-8 Gecko |
| Tank Hunters: | Spandrel |
| Recon: | BMP-1 OP - BRDM-2 |
| Aircraft: | MI-24 Hind - SU-22 Fitter |
| Soviet Support: | SU-25 Frogfoot |
| Czech Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T-55 - T55AM2 - T-72M - T-72B |
| Transports: | OT-64 - BMP-1 - BMP-2 |
| Troops: | Motostrelci |
| Artillery: | 2S1 Carnation - Dana SpGH - RM-70 |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU 23-4 Shilka - SA-8 Gecko - SA9 Gaskin - SA-13 Gopher - M53/59 Praga |
| Tank Hunters: | Spandrel |
| Recon: | BMP-1 OP - BRDM-2 |
| Aircraft: | MI-24 Hind - SU-25 Frogfoot - SU-22 Fitter |
| Iranian Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T-55 - T-62 - M60 Patton - Chieftain |
| Transports: | M113 Armored Personnel Carrier - BTR-60 - BMP-1 |
| Troops: | Iranian Mechanized Platoon - Basij Infantry Company |
| Artillery: | M109 Howitzer - BM-21 Hail - M125 81mm |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU 23-4 Shilka - ZSU-57-2 - SA-8 Gecko |
| Tank Hunters: | Jeep TOW - Jeep 106mm Recoilless - M113 106mm Recoilless |
| Recon: | Scorpion |
| Aircraft: | AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter |
| Soviet Support: | SU-25 Frogfoot |