Rwandan military tried to overthrow a Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot attack jet of the Air Force of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last Tuesday (24). The pilot managed to land, even with the aircraft seriously damaged after being hit by shrapnel from an anti-aircraft missile.
Images of the event - which took place in the city of Goma, on the border between the two countries - began to circulate on social networks on the same day. A video recorded by a civilian shows the Congolese Frogfoot flying low and not very fast. A missile rips through the sky and explodes near the aircraft; the explosion is heard shortly thereafter and the cameraman ducks.
#Congo: Wild footage of a Congolese Air Force Su-25 (One of only four in country) hit by a presumed Rwandan MANPADS fired over #Gum. It managed to land, but will certainly be out of action.
These aircraft have been used against M23 rebels, who Rwanda not-so-covertly s. pic.twitter.com/brl8iKDzeP
- Cᴀʟɪʙʀᴇ Oʙsᴄᴜʀᴀ (@CalibreObscura) January 24, 2023
Em release official, the Government of Rwanda acknowledged responsibility for the actions against the military aircraft, claiming that the Su-25 would have invaded its airspace. "Today at 17:03, a Sukhoi-25 from the Democratic Republic of Congo violated Rwanda's airspace for the third time. Defensive measures were taken. Rwanda asks the DRC to stop this aggression.”
In contrast, the DRC repudiated Rwanda's allegations, stating that the aircraft was targeted in Congolese airspace and that at no time did it violate Rwandan airspace. Congo still classified the actions as “a deliberate act of aggression amounting to an act of war.”
#RDC Le Gouvernement 🇨🇩 condamne et dénonce fermement l'attaque de son avion de chasse, ce mardi 24 janvier 2023, par l'armée rwandaise dans l'espace aérien Congolais et n'entend pas se laisser faire. Ci-dessous⤵️, the official communication pic.twitter.com/YnLz2Bmhlq
— Ministry of Communication and Media/DRC (@Com_mediasRDC) January 24, 2023
Also according to the Congolese government, the aircraft was hit when starting procedures for landing at Goma International Airport, about 1 km from the border with Rwanda.
Images show the aircraft seriously damaged after landing in Goma, with puncture marks in the area of the engine and horizontal stabilizer. The missile explosion also resulted in a fire in the right engine, with some of the flames spreading across the airport floor.
🇨🇬❌🇷🇼
A Congolese Su-25 was hit by Rwanda manpads over the city of Goma on final landing approach.
A Su-25 from Congo was reached by a manpad fired by Rwanda in the final stage of landing pic.twitter.com/uZpMf0zFz1
ADVERTISING — Ares, Information Service (@Aresinfoservice) January 25, 2023
According to the portal The War Zone, the Su-25 from Congo was returning from a mission against rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23), which operates mainly in the North Kivu region. The aircraft was carrying two underwing tanks and six B-8 pods, each capable of carrying 20 8 mm S-80 rockets, totaling 120 shells.
This is the most serious incident between the two countries, whose relations have deteriorated in recent months. Congo accuses its neighbor of ing the M23, which wants the overthrow of the current president, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi. According to the DRC, the event “undermines the ongoing effort to pacify the region.”
As previously mentioned, this is not the first time that a Congolese Su-25 has entered neighboring territory. Rwanda denounced, in November and December 2022, two other violations of its airspace by DRC planes. In the latest statement, the Rwandan government said that “These provocations must stop”.
The Su-25 was specifically developed for ground attack and close air missions, as a response to the North American A-10 Thunderbolt II. In this way, the mission performed by the plane exposes it even more to anti aircraft systems.
Due to the flight and mission profile, the aircraft are vulnerable to short-range portable missiles, the so-called MANPADS, like the one that may have been used against the Congolese model this week.
Anyway, the Su-25 is widely recognized for its robustness (as well as the A-10), capable of returning to base even seriously damaged, see what happened in this case. Although very resistant, it is not unbeatable, and several casualties for the model have been recorded over the years. It is currently the most shot down fighter jet in the Russia-Ukraine conflict: the Russians lost 25 Frogfoot, while Ukraine lost 15.
