23 examples of amazing camouflage on military planes
Publish date: 2024-08-08
2016-03-21T23:25:00Z 
Just like their sister branches on the ground, air forces around the world constantly seek to change and improve the camouflages they use.
And like all other examples of camouflage, aircraft patterns vary widely between countries, aircraft, historical period, and the location the aircraft was being deployed to.
Below we have listed some of our favorite examples of unique and varied aircraft camo patterns.
A Russian SU-27 Flanker aircraft banks away with an RAF Typhoon in the background. RAF Typhoons were scrambled on June 14, 2014, to intercept multiple Russian aircraft as part of NATO's ongoing mission to police Baltic airspace.
A Russian Su-35 Super Flanker soars through the clouds.
Two RF-4Es of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force patrol above Japan.
Israeli F-16s fly low and fast inside the Ramon Crater in the Negev Desert in Israel.
An Israeli air force F-15I maneuvers away after receiving fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker over Nevada's test and training ranges.
A Dutch F-16 takes off.
Two Israeli air force F-15s fly in Nevada's Red Flag aerial-training operation in 2004.
An Iranian Su-24 waits to take off from Mehrabad International Airport for a training flight.
A Russian Su-30 glides through the air during a test flight.
Russia's new T-50 prototype tests its engines in flight.
An Indian air force SU-30K Flanker lands following a simulated combat mission with US Air Force F-15 Eagles deployed from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.
An F-16 Fighting Falcon flies with naval camouflage.
An F/A-18, belonging to the VFA-122 "Flying Eagles" based out of Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, and flown by the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), blends seamlessly into the desert background.
A US Navy F/A-18C Hornets of the Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-125 "Rough Raiders" flies in formation flight out of Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, with an unusual tiger-stripe camouflage.
An attack squadron VA-72 Blue Hawks Vought A-7E Corsair II aircraft of the commander, Carrier Air Wing, flies homeward after a deployment in the Persian Gulf area during Operation Desert Storm.
A formation of F-4 Phantom II fighter aircraft display their unique camos in formation during a heritage-flight demonstration.
OV-10s from the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron show off their woodland camouflage at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.
A flight of Aggressor F-15 Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons with various camouflage schemes fly in formation over the Nevada Test and Training Range on June 5, 2008.
A Douglas A-1E Skyraider warbird, painted as "AF 132-683" of the South Vietnamese air force, in 2008.
US Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft from Marine Attack Squadron 513 at Yuma Marine Corps air base, in Arizona, fly in formation during Operation Desert Shield.
A B-52 Stratofortress from the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron leads a formation of Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-2s from the 6th Squadron, US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 18th Aggressor Squadron, and a US Navy EA-6B Prowler from the Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136 over Guam on February 10, 2009.
An F-15C-27-MC Eagle with naval camouflage from the 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
An F-16 Fighting Falcon, showing aggressor paint scheme, disconnects from a KC-10 Extender after being refueled during a Red Flag-Alaska exercise on April 22 and is ready to reengage friendly forces.
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