Stinger Missiles Hit Twice During Sudden Attacks In Ukraine, Sukhoi Su-25 Fighter Jets Successfully Return To Base

Illustration of the Russian Sukhoi Su-25. (Wikimedia Commons/Fedor Leukhin)

JAKARTA - A Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jet managed to return to its airbase safely during a sortie in Ukraine, after two missiles from the Stinger human-portable anti-aircraft missile system hit its engines, a navigator from Russia's air squadron said on Monday.

"There were two Stinger missiles hitting the engine, after which the plane returned safely and landed at the airfield for takeoff," the squadron navigator said in a live broadcast on TV Channel One, as reported by TASS May 17.

The Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack aircraft is "sufficiently enduring in combat conditions" and also performs very well at low and very low altitudes, the navigator continued.

The FIM-92 Stinger is a surface-to-air missile system developed by US-based General Dynamics in the late 1960s to late 1970s and manufactured by Raytheon Missile Systems. The Stinger is no longer produced today.

This air defense weapon is capable of striking aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles, locking on to targets by detecting their infrared or ultraviolet radiation. The Stinger has a maximum operating range of about 5 km.

Together with the Javelin, the Stinger has become a weapon that many Western countries supply to Ukraine, following the invasion by Russia since February 24.

Meanwhile, the Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack aircraft is designed to provide close support to ground forces day and night, as well as to destroy targets with specified coordinates around the clock in any weather conditions.

To date, the Russian Armed Forces operate modified Su-25SM and Su-25SM3 and combat training versions of the Su-25UB.