This is probably the first ever action camera combat jet ejection footage.
A crazy footage has started doing the rounds on social networks: posted by the popular Russian Fighterbomber Telegram channel (and then made available on their Youtube channel), the video shows the ejection of a Russian pilot from a Su-25SM involved in a mission over Ukraine.
The pilot was carrying a GoPro-like action camera on his helmet/body, so we can get a pretty clear idea of what ejecting from a combat aircraft flying low level looks like.
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Several details can be gathered by replaying the video at slow speed: the aircraft involved in the incident appears to be the Su-25SM with bort number 09 red. Shortly after the pilot ejects, we get a glimpse at the Frogfoot: there seems to be fire coming out of one of the engines (the image seems reversed, so it should be the right one). Part of the tail is also missing.
We don’t know exactly when (probably last summer – considered the landscape) and where the Su-25 crashed; we can’t even say whether it was shot down by Ukrainian air defense systems (or MANPADS – Man Portable Air Defense System), as it seems more likely, or it went down for other reasons. Whatever, the footage is remarkable as it is, to our knowledge, the first ever ejection recorded by a pilot with an action camera, and for sure, the first such kind of clip coming from the current conflict in Ukraine.
