The US F/A-18 Super Hornet receives the livery used on the Sukhoi Su-57
A US Navy (USN) F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet has been recorded sporting a livery similar to that used by one of the prototypes of the Russian Sukhoi Su-57 Felon stealth fighter. The aircraft belongs to VFC-12 Fighting Omars Squadron, a unit based at Naval Air Station Oceana whose function is air combat training, playing the role of enemy, adversary (aggressor) aircraft.
The images, posted on the unit's Facebook page, show the F/A-18E with the red wing number 12. Another F/A-18F with the red wing number 22 can also be seen in the background, but without any special markings. The unit is transitioning from the F/A-18C/D Hornet Legacy to the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The photos were taken during the retirement ceremony for the unit's commanding officer, Commander Matt Runzel, according to The Aviator.
The livery is called "Mako" and is inspired by the scheme used on three Su-57 prototypes. The pattern, also known as White Shark, comes from the Mako Tubarão, a species that, according to Galileo magazine, can reach four meters in length and is found in both tropical and temperate waters. The Mako paint scheme was used on the T-50-5/5R, T-50-6-2, and T-50-8, the fifth, sixth, and seventh flight prototypes of the Russian fighter jet.
To increase the realism of training and facilitate the memorization of Russian paint schemes and markings, the US paints its Aggressor aircraft by "imitating" the same patterns. VFC-12 had already painted one of its F/A-18Ds with the ghost pattern, in shades of gray with pixelated blue, also used by the Su-57/T-50.
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