A photo with F-5 Tiger II fighters from the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) is going viral on social networks, but for an interesting reason: the fighters are “camouflaged”! One of the publications with the photo sured 60 likes on Twitter
The image shows eight F-5EM fighters and one F-5FM fighter, with two seats, over the north zone of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, on April 23. The aircraft are flying over the Gravataí River, next to the Arena stadium and the training center of the Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense team. It is also possible to identify Salgado Filho International Airport.
It is precisely the difficulty in seeing all the fighters in the image (recorded from another F-5FM) that makes it so unique. A post on Twitter with the caption “Understand what camouflage means” had already sured 60 likes by Tuesday night (03).
Zoom in on the image and understand what camouflage means. pic.twitter.com/DIcsxKBrDe
— Caco Schutz, the surfer from Panambi™🇪🇪🇧🇷 (@CacoSchutz) May 2, 2022
Two other publications on Instagram had more than 12 thousand and eight thousand likes, also with the same caption.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdGSclLL0dc/
But after all, what is the story behind the image?
The photo in question shows the return of the aircraft from the Pampa Squadron (1st/14th GAv) of the FAB to its headquarters at Base Aérea de Canoas, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. Days earlier, the unit left for Santa Cruz Air Base, in Rio de Janeiro, where the Fighter Aviation Meeting (RAC) 2022 was taking place.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cck2MUsjgIe/
On this occasion, the “14”, as the Squadron is also called, gathered 10 fighters for the transfer to RJ. The RAC takes place during the so-called “hunting week”, which encomes the days before Fighter Aviation Day, celebrated on April 22nd.
In addition to exchanging knowledge, FAB aviators the feats of those who preceded them and fought in the Second World War, something we explain in this special article.
Upon returning from the event in RJ, the Pampa pilots flew over, with the 10 fighter jets, the shore of the Guaíba River that bathes Porto Alegre. Even before ing by the Grêmio stadium, the planes also flew over the Gigante da Beira-Rio, as the Sport Club Internacional stadium is called.
On the internet it is possible to find several images that show the “effect” of camouflage with military aircraft, whether fighters, helicopters and even bombers from different eras. However, it is one of the few images – if not the only one – in which this effect is visible with Brazilian planes.
Camouflage in shades of gray and green appeared around 2001, being initially tested on an AMX A-1 attack jet (FAB 5654) of the Centauro Squadron. Later, the definitive scheme was applied to all Air Force aircraft that had some tactical use, being used until today.
The FAB has been operating the F-5 Tiger II fighters for over 45 years, something that is even reinforced in one of the planes in the viral photos, being this model the second aircraft with the longest service in the Brazilian fleet, sured only by the transport C-130 Hércules.
Despite their age and limitations, the FAB's F-5s were extensively modernized in the early 2000s, and today they have some systems and armaments similar to those found in 4th generation fighters, such as the North American F-15 and F-16. The upgrade of Brazilian aircraft was even recognized by one of the major US defense portals.
But since 2013 the F-5 veterans already have a replacement in the form of the F-39 Gripen, manufactured by Saab and Embraer. Initially, the FAB acquired 36 units of the new fighter, but recently announced that a contract modification added four more planes to the original order. At the same time, the purchase of a second batch of around 30 fighter jets is being studied.
