TBILISI, July 2, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A Georgian military pilot died on Tuesday
when his plane crashed during a training exercise, the Black Sea nation's
defence ministry said.

A Su-25 jet "crashed during military training involving air defence
components," the ministry said in a statement.

"Air force pilot Kakhaber Zurabashvili tragically perished in the
catastrophe," the ministry said, adding that a probe has been launched to
determine the causes of the incident.

The Su-25 is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in
1975 in the Soviet Union to provide close air support for Soviet ground
forces.

It began mass production in 1978 at Tbilisi's Tbilaviamsheni aircraft
manufacturing plant.

\In 2022, a Georgia border police helicopter crashed near the northern winter
resort town of Gudauri, killing all eight people on board.