After the start of the air operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces against the military infrastructure of ISIS in the Syrian Arab Republic, pilots of NATO tactical aviation ("coalition"), as well as operators of ground and air-based AWACS systems of the Turkish and US Air Forces regularly monitor the tactics of using our "4 ++" generation fighters in this tangled and protracted conflict. The aggressive action that led to the death of our pilot, Hero of Russia Oleg Peshkov, and the loss of the front-line bomber Su-24M, the Turkish Air Force dared to undertake only against a vehicle that was absolutely not intended for air combat and worthy of defense against the F-16C hanging in the tail, which confirms cowardice and the low moral qualities of the NATO staff who were in charge of that barbaric act. Naturally, in relation to the Su-30SM, Su-35S and Su-34, no provocative actions, as well as hints at them, were taken. How it would end, you already know very well. But despite this, they are well aware of and to some extent even planning future military conflicts with Russia in the European theater of operations. And it has already come to the point that the own light fighters of the "aggressor" for training battles and training of flight personnel of the US Air Force are repainted in the colors of promising serial fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
In the favorite dominant manner of spreading this news over the network, Western resources began immediately after the sudden deployment of our Aerospace Forces at the Iranian Hamadan airbase in mid-August 2016. Apparently, this had the same effect on them as the combat launches of "Caliber" from the Caspian Sea to the IS camps: a complete surprise. The Russian Federation has shown that its allies are ready without any delay to provide their territory for solving strategically important tasks in the southern strategic direction, which has traditionally been assigned to a greater extent to the Americans and Saudis.
The first US Air Force multipurpose fighter to receive a new paint scheme borrowed from the Su-35S was the F-16C Block 25F, which is in service with the 64th US Air Force "aggressor" squadron. The transfer of the new vehicle was carried out on August 5, 2016, during the solemn appointment as the new commander of the 57th enemy tactics designation group, which became part of the US Air Force on September 15, 2005. From the words of the chief of intelligence of the 64th squadron, Ken Spiro, paint schemes are simulated that are most similar to the schemes of a potential enemy, which the United States considers the Russian Federation to be. In the US Air Force, the new scheme was named "Splinter" ("Shard") and was taken from the second prototype of the Su-35-2. This choice is interesting in that it is present only on an experimental Russian car, and the serial ones are painted in gray-blue camouflage. Bloggers and observers argue that this choice of the Americans is not accidental: the combat effectiveness of this camouflage is much higher, and in wartime this particular color should become the basis of the Su-35S, but no weighty arguments are given. How are things in reality?
The blue-gray camouflage of the serial Su-35S makes it difficult to visually recognize it in close air combat against the background of the sea surface. The combat radius of the vehicle exceeds 1,500 km, and the most dangerous operational and strategic directions for the Russian Federation remain the maritime and ocean theaters, where American aircraft carrier strike groups dominate, from which it follows that the use of "Flanker-E +" will often occur precisely on the sea borders of our state at the time of reflection of the likely actions of the American deck-based Super Hornets and Lightnings. Blue-gray camouflage in this case is most effective for BVB. But the "Shard" camouflage scheme chosen by the Americans, apparently, is the result of the forecasting work of the specialists of the 64th squadron, relying on the conduct of air battles over the territories of Eastern European states.
The "Shard" is represented by a set of color elements, among which there are dark green, light gray and white. These shades are great for low-altitude flights against the backdrop of a European landscape with a huge number of forests, rivers, as well as snow-covered plains and hills. It is most likely that the Americans understand the complexity of air operations against the Russian Federation using carrier-based fighters, where even the NIFC-CA concept is inferior to hundreds of our Onyxes and Calibers, and therefore they are already making big bets on air battles over continental Europe, where and the "Splinter" camouflage of the Su-35S can be used. So the spontaneous choice of color for "Falcon" in this case is completely excluded.
The 64th Squadron did not stop at the Splinter and is actively working on the development of a new Shark camouflage scheme. It is supposed to be borrowed from the 5th prototype of the promising stealthy fighter T-50-5R PAK-FA. The bearing surface of the airframe, including the air intakes, is painted white, the upper one is gray, and the stabilizers are a combination of these colors. Such camouflage can become very productive for fighter squadrons and T-50 air regiments transferred to the disposal of the "Arctic forces". The States are trying to get as close as possible to the realities of the upcoming military and political battles. But the experience of American pilots gained in training battles with painted F-16Cs is not a readiness to meet with real Su-35S or T-50 PAK-FA.
In long-range aerial combat, the color of camouflage will have absolutely no meaning, and in the close-up, the Americans will encounter completely different flight and technical qualities of our machines, which the Falcons are completely beyond the control of. The deflected thrust vector, better climb rate and acceleration qualities of the Su-35S and T-50 will stubbornly surpass everything that their repainted "aggressors" F-16C demonstrated to the US Air Force flight personnel. Such elements of super-maneuverability as "Pugacheva's Cobra" or "Bell" will simply shock American pilots in the BVB. Neither the F-35A nor the upgraded F-15C or F-16C Block 60 will be able to compete with our advanced fighters, as they could with the training Falcons.
A much more logical solution would be to give similar camouflage schemes to a pair of four super-maneuverable 5th generation F-22A "Raptor" fighters, capable of repeating some of the maneuverability elements of our fighters. But the Americans deliberately went the wrong way, which will give them absolutely no skills in possible future clashes with our VKS. And the Raptor itself is unlikely to be able to repeat the capabilities of our T-50 PAK-FA, which in battle can firmly rely on all 5 radar systems distributed over the airframe and a bow optical-location station.
