Air Force F-16 Aggressor Jet Emerges In Highly Anticipated "Ghost" Paint Scheme [4/4] - Su-57 wearing a similar digitized 'ghost' scheme..jpg (1/1)

Miloch wrote in
:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...6-aggressor-em
erges-in-russian-su-57-like-ghost-paint-scheme

The much anticipated "ghost" scheme F-16C belonging to the 64th
Aggressor Squadron based at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas has emerged from
the paint barn. The paint job came to be via a crowdsourced
competition on 57th Wing Commander Brigadier General Robert Novotny's
Facebook page, with followers submitting different design ideas and
voting on each one in a number of rounds, ending with this scheme
being chosen. You can read all about how this competition came to be,
the value of ornate aggressor paint jobs, and so much more in our
interview with General Novotny.

Novotny posted a video on Facebook of the jet being painted and the
final result of everyone's engagement. If it doesn't pop up below
automatically, you can find it here.

https://www.facebook.com/NellisAFB/v...2930770318447/

The striking motif is similar to ones worn by some of Russia's small,
but supposedly set to grow fleet of Su-57 next-generation fighters.

The new paint job appears to have four separate contrasting tones. The
top features a digitized aqua colored pattern with a baby blue base,
while the bottom is off-white with what appears to be a darker blue
pattern overlaid. Of all the creative USAF aggressor paint jobs
flying, it certainly seems to be one of the showiest.

As a side note, it appears that the Navy actually beat the USAF to the
punch when it comes to fielding the first ghost-like scheme on a U.S.
aggressor jet. Photos popped up earlier in the week showing a legacy
F/A-18 Hornet belonging to VFC-12 sporting a very similar motif. Did
the Navy actively attempt preempt the USAF's high-profile reveal? That
isn't clear at this time, but other schemes have first appeared on
VFC-12 jets just to show up on 64th AGRS jets not long after. Then
again, these schemes are largely driven by enemy threats that exist
in the real world, so coincidences are bound to happen.

Regardless of the possibility of a little good-natured competition
between the services when it comes adversary paint jobs, it will be
interesting to see the 'ghost' F-16 in the air with its new bad guy
duds. If the scheme is well received, we will probably see it on other
64th AGRS jets, and who knows, maybe even aggressor F-35s, in the not
too distant future.

Above all else, the new aggressor paint design stands a testament to
how military commanders can have a meaningful, creative, and fun
interaction with civilians on social media that actually results in
something tangible that people can appreciate being part of.



Looks a lot like the "dazzle" paint schemes
put on allied ships in WWII......