Poland to refit F-35 jets with better-camouflaged monochrome insignia

A significant change is coming for the insignia of the Polish Air Force: a new low-detectability checkerboard pattern meant to ensure the country’s F-35 jets can operate with maximum stealth.

The idea of camouflaging warplanes originated across the Atlantic during the Cold War.

“Tactical marking camouflage in the United States appeared in the 1980s, starting with the famous F-117 Nighthawk,” Kacper Bakuła of the Armament Agency told Euronews.

“Maintaining a consistent colour tone for markings on aircraft was intended to make enemy recognition more difficult from the outset. This was based on lessons learned from World War II and the characteristic dogfights of that era, where enemy identification was not particularly challenging.”

New legislation introduced in Poland’s parliament suggests using the existing Polish checkerboard in shades of grey to blend with the surface of the fighter jet, “in cases justified by security requirements or operational conditions”.

“On the one hand, this is a manufacturer’s requirement; on the other, it is a need of the çağdaş battlefield,” says Cezary Tomczyk, secretary of state in the Ministry of National Defence.

The camouflaged checkerboard on fifth-generation fighter jets is also designed to ensure limited detectability by radar systems, particularly from forces hostile to NATO allies.

“Even a small, distinguishing element on the aircraft’s fuselage can lead to visual detection and the identification of its national affiliation,” explains Brigadier General Pilot Wojciech Pikuła, deputy inspector of the Air Force.

“This is why it is emphasised that the markings should be in camouflage colours similar to those of the F-35.”

The government proposal was presented to parliament on Wednesday.