The Japan Air Self-Defense Force paints old F-4 fighters with new paint. Is there any particularity in the coloring of fighter planes?

Be particular about it.

Military aircraft camouflage began to be used during World War I. Countries painted olive green on the cloth on the upper surface of their wooden aircraft. When viewed from above, it looks the same as the green forests and green camouflage. The fields are blended together, making it difficult to be spotted by enemy planes.

During World War II, various countries attached great importance to the systematic study of military aircraft camouflage and established the basic theory of military aircraft camouflage. Different camouflage colors are used depending on the season, region, aircraft type and mission. For example, night aircraft use black, carrier-based aircraft use light gray white on the lower part and dark gray on the upper part, most fighters use two different colors of deformed camouflage, and bombers mostly use military green on the upper part and sky blue on the lower part.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, most of the fighter planes of the Chinese Air Force were made of metallic primary colors, which was actually not conducive to visual camouflage in the air. The reason for this is to take into account the factors of nuclear war, because the shiny skin can reflect a lot of the bright light produced by nuclear explosions. During the same period, most Soviet and American fighter aircraft were in a similar situation.

However, when conducting conventional operations, fighter aircraft using primary metallic colors are more conspicuous, so specific coatings will appear during conventional operations. Aircraft painting is to apply a layer of material on the surface of the aircraft. The material can be paint, absorbing materials, etc. This is called aircraft painting.

The so-called coating of military aircraft actually improves the undetectability of fighter aircraft. In modern warfare, low-visibility painting is an important part of combat support, and its main function is to conceal the truth and reveal the false. In close combat, the party with low-visibility paint can often take the lead and achieve the purpose of preserving itself.

For example, the U.S. Air Force adopted a green camouflage pattern during the Vietnam War. The green camouflage was painted on the upper part of the aircraft and the lower part was gray. Fighters using this camouflage can easily blend into the green jungle background when viewed from the air, and blend into the sky background when viewed from the ground.