Aggressor Aircraft Used in The United States
US aggressor squadrons fly small and low-wing loaded fighters that are used to represent those of the potential adversaries. Originally Douglas A-4s (US Navy) and Northrop F-5s (US Navy, Marines, and Air Force) were flown. The Navy and Marine Corps briefly operated 2 squadrons of F-21 Kfir Adversaries at NAS Oceana {VF-43} and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma (VMFT-401). These were eventually supplemented by early-model F/A-18As (US Navy) and specially built F-16Ns (for the US Navy) and F-16A models for the Air Force). Starting at the end of 2005, the USAF has started using the larger and faster F-15 Eagle as an aggressor aircraft alongside the F-16 at Nellis Air Force Base. Nellis will soon receive a total of 24 Eagles to be used in adversary training.
Foreign aircraft have been used as aggressors in the United States, most notably the Israeli Kfir fighter, designated F-21 in its use as an adversary asset. Actual Russian MiG-17s, 21s, and 23s have also been flown by the US Air Force as Aggressors over the Nellis ranges, under the Constant Peg program. The US Army operates eleven Russian aircraft for adversary training, including Mi-24 Hinds, Mi-8 Hips, Mi-2 Hoplites, and An-2 Colts.
German MiG-29 aircraft were regular visitors to the United States before being sold to Poland and participated in valuable DACT training at Nellis AFB as well as NAS Key West in addition to providing dets to overseas locations or hosting US squadrons in Germany. One MiG-29 was loaned to the US for evaluation providing insight in the threat technology.
While aircraft used for the aggressor role are usually older jet fighters, this has not always been the case. During the mid-1980s, the US Navy determined that the A-4s and F-5s flown at Top Gun were not adequate in simulating the air-to-air capabilities of the newest Russian fighters such as the MiG-29 and Su27. At this point, the U.S. Navy held a competition for an adversary platform that could viably represent fourth-generation fighter threats embodied by the MiG-29, Su-27 and the Mirage 2000. The competing airframes were the General Dynamics F-16C Falcon and the Northrop F-20 Tigershark. According to George Hall's "Top Gun", many instructors at the Navy Fighter Weapons School preferred that the Navy procure the F-20. One reason given being the similarity to the F-5E Tiger aircraft already used by Top Gun and the four active duty adversary squadrons (VF-43, VF-45, VF-126, and VFA-127). However, General Dynamics priced the Falcon for the Navy at below cost. The F-16C won the competition and the F-20 failed to win another order, which when compounded with other lost contracts, led to the demise of the F-20 program and the elimination of one more competitor for the F-16 in the worldwide fighter market. The F-16C as procured by the Navy was equipped with the lighter AN/APG-63 radar set as flown in the F-16A, was devoid of the M-61 Vulcan gun system, had a titanium vice steel wing spar as in other F-16s, and had twin lens pods on both sides of the intake to enlarge the relatively small radar cross section of the F-16. Any equipment not necessary for visual-range aerial combat was removed, enhancing their agility and dogfighting abilities. These F-16s were designated F-16N, and twenty-two single seat aircraft and four twin seat, designated the TF-16N, were built for the US Navy and flown at its famous "TOPGUN" Navy Fighter Weapons School starting in 1987 as well as with VF-43, VF-45 and VF-126, which were still active duty Adversary squadrons at the time. Despite the Airframe being strengthened to cope with the continuous high-G loads associated with air combat manoeuvring, cracks were detected on the wings after only a few years of operation, leading to grounding of the Navy F-16 fleet by 1992 and complete retirement of the F-16N by 1994. In 2002 the Navy began to receive fourteen F-16A and F-16B models from AMARC at Davis-Monthan AFB that were brand new aircraft originally intended for Pakistan, but had been embargoed. All 14 are operated by NSAWC for use by TOPGUN in addition to the F/A-18A aircraft already in operation at NAS Fallon.
Aggressor aircraft in the United States are typically painted in colorful camouflage schemes, matching the colors of many Russian aircraft and contrasting with the gray colors used in most operational US combat aircraft. Camouflage schemes that consist of many shades of blue (similar to those used in Sukhoi fighters) or of green and mostly-light brown (similar to the colors used in many Middle Eastern countries' combat aircraft) are most common.
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