The F-16/Su-57 camo will be most probably realized for early summer
The interesting pictures in this post show the new paint scheme (aimed to reproduce the Russian Su-57 Stealth Fighter) of Nellis F-16 Aggressors which will be most probably realized for early summer.
According to 57th Wing Commander Facebook Page the camo was chosen with the help of his followers:
“WINNER! Team – thank you for your help narrowing down our choices. I took the two semi-finalists to the Aggressors and they are going to go with the Su-57 digital paint scheme. Do you like it? Time to get the design / paint going. Stay tuned for a time-lapsed paint job and an official roll out soon.”
Noteworthy also an F-35/J-31 is depicted in one of the pictures.
Although no info is available on the possible F-35/J-31 camo, this is not the first time an Aggressor aircraft is painted to simulate the Chinese J-31 stealth fighter. As we reported on Aug. 2, 2017 a black-painted F-16 assigned to the 18th Aggressor Squadron (AGRS) featured a paint scheme that resembled that worn by China’s Shenyang J-31 fifth-generation fighter.
Well, we think that the F-35 would be better suited to realistically simulate the J-31 than the mighty Viper. In fact even if USAF Aggressors are some of the best fighter pilots in the world and they can provide the most realistic adversary training and even though we don’t know much yet about J-31 true capabilities, it would be impossible for a legacy F-16 reproducing the stealth characteristics of the new Chinese fighter.
However it remains to be seen how the F-16 could realistically simulate Russia’s Su-57.
Nellis AFB 64th Aggressor Squadron prepares US, allied, and partner nation aircrews for aerial combat with accurate and realistic threat replication training. They accomplish this as the USAF’s professional adversaries, flying F-16 (64 AGRS) aircraft for Red Flag and Maple Flag exercises, USAF Weapons School syllabus support, priority test mission support and road shows that visit various units throughout the CAF.
Photo credit: U.S. Air Force, 57th Wing Commander Facebook Page and
wc via via Wikimedia Commons
Artwork courtesy of AircraftProfilePrints.com
