Originally Posted by
moosefoot
From what I gather it chiefly depends on the time of production/delivery and the unit that operates them. There is a crapload of different camos all over the Air Force for these reasons, and on top of that prototype/evaluation machines tend to be painted in whatever scheme the producer sees fit.
Generally speaking though, helicopters by Mil that have been delivered since this summer are gray and this gray drab has signature reducing qualities (radar/IR). Prior deliveries retain their usual camos for the most part. Many machines also got a freshened-up paintjob together with the introduction of the new Air Force roundel.
The Kamov Ka-52 was black at the pre-production/evaluation stage, later it recieved the usual green/tan combat helicopter camo. The gray machine that was seen at MAKS was a Ka-52K for the Navy, if I recall correctly.
This lack of a wide "standard" is also evident elsewhere. MiG-29SMTs were fairly recently given a gray/white splinter camo (reminsicent of the Sukhoi Su-35BM bort 902 and the PAK-FA) whereas other MiG-29 models still possess the USSR-era green/gray camo. A notable exception being some MiG-29UBs that have recieved an all-gray variety. In the Sukhoi case you see some versions of the classic light blue scheme in service, both for Su-27/30 and the recently adopted Su-35S. Prototypes, tech demos and what not have sported a multitude of schemes. The Su-34 has its own version in a deeper shade of blue for a while (the early machines had a greener kind though), but a few of the aircraft in the latest batch delivered to Baltimor AFB in Voronezh have recieved a new all gray camo.
I think the overall trend is simply to go gray. Evidently, it's on the increase and I find it quite likely that they will standardize it to a larger extent in the near future. Bit of a westernization, I'd say.
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