Thanks for the balanced, rational and fair response Catgut. The...

Thanks for the balanced, rational and fair response Catgut.

The reports or comments that SU-25 can reach 33,000 feet are simply false, putting aside the pilot would need oxygen and just looking at the aircraft performance. There is no way possible SU-25 even clean due to it's thrust and wing loading can reach almost two miles above it's maximum altitude of 23,000 feet as recorded on Sukhoi very own website of aircraft data.

http://www.sukhoi.org/eng/planes/military/su25k/lth/

Maximum altitude/service ceiling is 23,000 feet that is the maximum altitude the aircraft can reach with engines at full power and still sustain flight which would be an airspeed just above it's take off speed for the planes given weight.

The only option for a SU-25 to reach a altitude above 23,000 would be to increase angle of attack, however that of course would quickly lead to a stall within a very short period of time and would only gain the SU-25 1,000 - 3,000 feet.

There is another technique which Soviet pilots used during the cold war to try and reach U2's and SR71s and that is a zoom climb. That would allow the Mig to reach it's dynamic ceiling or what's referred to as coffin corner since to reach it is highly dangerous and likely to result in serious damage to the aircraft and complete loss of control.

With the co-ordination of ground control and approaching from in front of the target aircraft the pilot would put the Migs from maximum alt into a shallow dive, reach maximum permissible airspeed to still pull the climb without the aircraft ripping itself apart and then pull the aircraft into a maximum rate of climb to try and intercept the U2/SR71 however this was done with afterburners and at most could only gain the MIG about 10,000 feet before it stalled.

The SU-25 doesn't have afterburners, it's maximum service ceiling of 23,000 feet is already with engines at full power.

The technique was never successful U2 pilots use to worry more about the zooming mig would collide with their aircraft rather tahn any chance they would be able to fire a missile given the pilot was likely completely occupied with just controlling the aircraft and not disintegrating.

SR71 pilots use to just watch the Migs stall and fall away 10,000 feet or more below their aircraft.

SU-25 is an old aircraft, designed for low to medium level and even at those altitudes it has very poor performance.

Back to the rest of your post. Agree on your comments raised, I will try make a personal analysis and assessment on your points C to E and post a response here within the next few days.

Unfortunately as I've posted before those and many other questions won't be answered until the politics or war and propaganda are over, just as it was with flight KAL 007.



Kat.