Work is underway on legal amendments to enable the display of low-vis (low visibility) markings on Air Force aircraft. A draft law dedicated to amending the law on the signs of the Polish Armed Forces is on the list of work of the Council of Ministers.

In 2020, Poland signed a contract with the US for the purchase of 32 fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II block 4 multi-role fighter aircraft, with a total purchase amount of $4.6 billion. The first aircraft will land at the base in Łask in January 2026. Meanwhile, training of Polish pilots will begin later this year. A vote on the Polish name for the purchased fighters ended in late April 2024. The competition was won by the name “Hussar.”

The F-35 Lightning II weapons system produced by Lockheed Martin will have a special camouflage coating called RAM -Radar Absorbent Material. As the name implies, the material from which the coating is created absorbs radio waves, thus reducing the reflection of radar waves from the surface of the aircraft. This ultimately translates into reduced visibility of the aircraft on radar screens.

Currently, all aircraft serving in the Air Force are marked with a red and white checkerboard. The planned change is intended to make it permissible to use the symbol on F-35 aircraft based on a color scheme changed to low-vis (reduced visibility) shades of gray. The change was proposed by the Commander General of the Armed Forces, General Wieslaw Kukuła.

At the end of April 2024, Gen. Kukuła on the X portal confirmed the change of the colors of the red-and-white checkerboard to low-vis gray. The reason for the change is the need for better aircraft camouflage. The red-white colors may offset the effects of the RAM coating and affect the stealth characteristics of fifth-generation aircraft, making them more visible on radar. Changing the checkerboard colors will not increase costs, as this is part of the original paint job and subsequent maintenance.

The bill is currently at the inter-ministerial consultation stage. Once the Council of Ministers finishes work on it, it will be sent to the Parliament. In the justification of the bill we can read, among other things, that:

Determination of the new mark is due to the needs reported by the Plenipotentiary of the Ministry of Defense for the Acquisition and Deployment of the Fifth Generation Multipurpose Aircraft to the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, the Air Force Inspector. Currently, an aviation checkerboard in red and white colors is placed on military aircraft. In order to provide better camouflage for military aircraft, it is advisable to introduce new markings to prevent their early detection while correctly marking their nationality.

The draftsman also stressed that: “The introduction of a low-visibility version of the airborne checkerboard will not entail additional costs for the budget of the Ministry of Defense, as it will be performed as part of the painting of equipment or its ongoing maintenance.”

Tekst powstał w ramach realizacji zadania publicznego zleconego w ramach Rządowego Programu Rozwoju Organizacji Obywatelskich na lata 2018–2030 r. „Bezpieczna Polska jutra – rozwój działań misyjnych Alioth Foundation”.

Fot. Lockheed Martin