Air Force F-16 Aggressor Jet Emerges In Highly Anticipated "Ghost" Paint Scheme [1/4] - F-16 Aggressor Jet with 'Ghost' Paint Scheme.jpg (1/1)

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...t-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.



*