The Su-25 surpassed its main competitor in the Soviet Air Force competition, the Ilyushin Il-102, and series production was announced by the Ministry of Defence.

[8][9] During flight-testing phases of the T8-1 and T8-2 prototypes' development, the Sukhoi Design Bureau's management proposed that the series production of the Su-25 should start at Factory No.

In addition, an Su-25KM prototype was developed by Georgia in co-operation with Israeli company Elbit Systems in 2001, but so far this variant has not achieved much commercial success.

[12] All versions of the Su-25 have a metal cantilever wing, of moderate sweep, high aspect ratio and equipped with high-lift devices.

The wing consists of two cantilever sections attached to a central torsion box, forming a single unit with the fuselage.

On 19 July 1981, the 200th Independent Attack Squadron was reassigned to Shindand Airbase in western Afghanistan, becoming the first Su-25 unit deployed to that country.

Its main task was to conduct air strikes against mountain military positions and structures controlled by the Afghan rebels.

In one recorded incident, an Iraqi Su-25 was shot down by an Iranian, Hawk surface-to-air missile, but the pilot managed to eject.

[21] During the Gulf War of 1991, the air superiority of the coalition forces was so great that the majority of Iraqi Su-25s did not even manage to get airborne.

Another Su-25 piloted by Lt. Col. Evgeny Derkulsky was damaged by ground fire on the same day, but managed to land at Mozdok air base, where the aircraft was repaired.

[36] Up to seven Russian Su-25s were lost,[32] one to hostile fire: on 4 October 1999, a Su-25 was shot down by a MANPADS during a reconnaissance mission over the village of Tolstoy-Yurt killing its pilot.

[48] In early August 2008, Russian Su-25s attacked the Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing plant, where the Su-25 is produced, dropping bombs on the factory's airfield.

On 26 May 2014, Ukrainian Su-25s supported Mi-24 helicopters during a military operation to regain control over the airport in Donetsk, during which the Su-25s fired air to ground rockets.

[63][64] The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Air Force delivered seven Su-25s on 1 July 2014, the majority of which were ex-Iraqi aircraft from the Gulf War.

[68] In September 2015, it was reported that at least a dozen Su-25 were deployed by Russia to an airfield near Latakia, Syria, to support the Russian forces there who were taking part in the Syrian offensive against ISIL.

[91] On 24 May Ukraine claimed to have shot down retired Major General Kanamat Botashev flying an Su-25 using a Stinger missile.

[93] In late April 2024, Su-25s were flying unimpeded over Chasiv Yar, which, according to military analyst Rob Lee, indicated “a clear sign of a lack of Ukrainian air defense ammunition.”[94] On 4 May 2024, the 110th Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine) claimed to have shot down a Su-25 over Donetsk Oblast.

[121] On 2 January 2025, Forbes reported that Ukraine apparently managed to overhaul its remaining Su-25s to carry Western glide bombs such as the French AASM Hammer in 2024, allowing them to operate outside of Russian air defenses range.

[10] The aircraft experienced a number of accidents in operational service caused by system failures attributed to salvo firing of weapons.

The first prototype, called "T-8UB-1", was rolled out in July 1985 and its maiden flight was carried out at the Ulan-Ude factory airfield on 12 August of that year.

[10] By the end of 1986, 25 Su-25UBs had been produced at Ulan-Ude before the twin-seater completed its State trials and officially cleared for service with the Soviet Air Force.

[124] From 1986 to 1989, in parallel with the construction of the main Su-25UB combat training variant, the Ulan-Ude plant produced the so-called "commercial" Su-25UBK, intended for export to countries that bought the Su-25K, and with similar modifications to that aircraft.

[126] The Su-25UTG (Uchebno-Trenirovochnyy s Gakom) is a variant of the Su-25UB designed to train pilots in takeoff and landing on a land-based simulated carrier deck, with a sloping ski-jump section and arrester wires.

[18] Its enlarged nosecone houses the Shkval optical TV and aiming system with the Prichal laser rangefinder and target designator.

The SM upgrade incorporates avionics enhancements and airframe refurbishment to extend the Frogfoot's service life by up to 500 flight hours or 5 years.

Other systems and components incorporated during the upgrade include a Multi-Function Display (MFD), RSBN-85 Short Range Aid to Navigation (SHORAN), ARK-35-1 Automatic Direction Finder (ADF), A-737-01 GPS/GLONASS Receiver, Karat-B-25 Flight Data Recorder (FDR), Berkut-1 Video Recording System (VRS), Banker-2 UHF/VHF communication radio, SO-96 Transponder and a L150 "Pastel" Radar Warning Receiver (RWR).

[133] The combination of reconditioned and new equipment, with increased automation and self-test capability has allowed for a reduction of pre- and post-flight maintenance by some 25 to 30%.

[133] Su-25SM weapon suite has been expanded with the addition of the Vympel R-73 highly agile air-to-air missile (albeit without helmet mounted cueing and only the traditional longitudinal seeker mode) and the S-13T 130 mm rockets (carried in five-round B-13 pods) with blast-fragmentation and armour-piercing warheads.

[133] The eventual procurement programme is expected to include between 100 and 130 kits, covering 60 to 70 percent of the Russian Air Force active single-seat fleet, as operated in the early 2000s.

[153] The aircraft uses a standard Su-25 airframe, enhanced with advanced avionics including a glass cockpit, digital map generator, helmet-mounted display, computerised weapons system, complete mission pre-plan capability, and fully redundant backup modes.