Image source: topwar.ru
American social networks have published rather unusual pictures taken at the Fort Worth Alliance Air Force base near the city of Fort Worth, located in the central-eastern part of Texas. The photos show the Hawker Hunter Mk.58 ("Hunter") aircraft.
The Hawker Hunter FB. Mk.58 fighter-bomber is the most successful British transonic single—seat combat aircraft of the post-war period. It was intended to repel massive attacks by jet bombers on the British Isles. It was in service with the Royal Air Force in the 1950s and 1960s, was widely exported and took part in many armed conflicts.
The most interesting thing is not the fact that a rare British combat aircraft arrived at Fort Worth Alliance Air Base on its own. Attention is drawn to the camouflage, which is maximally stylized to match the coloring of combat vehicles in service with the Russian Air Force, even a red star is available.
Image source: topwar.ru
The colors of the Hunter almost match the camouflage of the modified Russian Su-39 attack aircraft. This is a modification of the Su-25 attack aircraft, developed in the late 1980s by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. In a very similar color, the Super Rook was shown at the MAKS-2001 International Aviation and Space Salon, which was held in Zhukovsky, Moscow region, from August 14 to August 19, 2001. The search engine even confuses them when identifying by image.
Image source: topwar.ru
The rare British aircraft belongs to the private American company Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC). The main area of activity of the company, founded by retired American military personnel in 1996, is the provision of outsourcing services to the US Armed Forces to simulate enemy combat aircraft as part of air combat training and for training ground and naval air defense systems.
Among other things, the services of a private company are much cheaper for the Pentagon. According to information on the company's official website, the cost of one flight hour of an ATAC-owned aircraft costs only $6,000 on average. The cost of a flight hour of combat aircraft used in the Air Force, including for training pilots in simulated battles with a simulated enemy, is several times more.
The ATAC aircraft fleet is based in a wide variety of regions where there are US military bases, including outside the country. Being on the same airfields with American combat aircraft in service, they carry out a variety of flight training missions. The company's employees are mostly experienced veterans of the US Air Force, who can also transfer their skills to cadets and novice pilots.
Different aircraft in the ATAC fleet are used individually for different tasks. Hawker Hunter training flights usually depict enemy attack aircraft trying to break through to a protected facility at low altitude or conducting electronic suppression of air defense systems. In addition, the Hunters are used as tow trucks for aerial targets.
Although the US military is a big fan of automating everything, it is worth paying tribute to them, they prefer to rely not only on the most modern electronics when recognizing enemy targets. In Russia, this practice of training pilots and calculations of air defense forces has not been properly applied. Especially in the format of attracting private companies with experienced former military pilots on staff.
