One of the unsung heroes of the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan were the fighter-bombers of the Sukhoi Su-17 family. Prior to the appearance of the Su-25, Su-17s were the primary fighter-bombers of the V-VS in this campaign, and units operating them flew thousands of combat sorties. This Su-17M-2 was operated by the 166th Fighter-Bomber Regiment from Kandahar and Shindand, while this unit was deployed inside Afghanistan in the 1983–1985 period. It is shown armed with a FAB-500M-62 general purpose bomb on the inboard underwing pylon, and carrying a 800-litre drop tank. The jet is shown wearing one of the camouflage patterns in mid-stone (BS381C/362), middle brown (BS381C/411) and light Brunswick green (BS381C/225) on top surfaces and sides, and light admiralty grey on undersides: somewhat ironically, back in the 1950s, the Soviets decided to use the British Standard colours as the basis for standardisation of their own colours. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)