One of three at Anatolian Eagle 2023, from the Azerbaijan AF's Su-25 Eskadrilya at Kürdəmir AB.

37 combat mission marks

Taxiing out for another exercise mission, this time fitted with external tanks on the centre pylons of each wing. The nose shows 37 red eight-pointed stars as mission marks.

Taking off from Konya's runway 01R for a 26-minute sortie to the neighbouring range. This Sukhoi participated in Anatolian Eagle exactly one year earlier as well.

Zero nine blue and a sister aircraft (33 blue) were the highlights of this years Anatolian Eagle exercise. The two Frogfoots are assigned to the Su-25 Eskadrilya, based at Kyurdamir air base, west from the capital Baku (Azerbaijan). 09 blue carried 37 combat mission marks on the left side of the nose, most probably acquired during the Nagorno Karabakh 2020 war.

The Azerbaijan AF started to send fighter jets to TurAz (Turkey-Azerbaijan) Falcon exercises in 2016. Then in 2021, it also started to participate in the multinational Anatolian Eagle exercise, by sending a small contingent of MiG-29 and / or SU-25 jets to Konya. Very little is known about the Azerbaijan AF SU-25 fleet, believed to consist of some 40 aircraft based at Kürdəmir AB. Note the red dots on the fuselage, indicating this airframe has seen combat at one point.