For "greater realism" personnel of these formations even wore Soviet-style uniforms and the weapons and equipment used by them were disguised to closely resemble Soviet ones (some real Soviet-made military hardware captured in local conflicts in Indochina and the Middle East was extensively used also).
"Aggressor" units carried out not only training, but also ideological functions on forming a "convincing and repelling enemy image". However it should be noted that, despite of all the heat of ideological and psychological confrontation of the "cold war" epoch nothing similar to American "aggressor" units had ever been created in armed forces of the USSR and its allies.
After disintegration of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact all "aggressor" units in the Armed Forces of the USA were officially deactivated. But after some time the administration in Washington had come to a conclusion that besides waging "global war on terrorism" the U.S. Military should be ready to face some "new challenges". And not only from "rogue states" like Iran and North Korea, but also from such international players and potential competitors as confidently gaining its might China and a much stronger and revived Russia which tends to pursue independent international policy.
In view of this the notorious statement by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates who has actually ranked Russia and China as possible countries-adversaries for the United States, is rather indicative.
Since 2003 two "aggressor" squadrons have been officially re-activated by the USAF and began to actively participate in the notorious "Red Flag" exercises. "Aggressor" squadrons also re-appeared in the U.S. Naval Aviation and Aviation of the Marine Corps. The squadrons' F-15 and F-16 aircraft are painted in camouflage schemes identical to those observed on Russian Air Force and Navy fighters as well as Russian-manufactured aircraft delivered to air forces of China, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela and several other states.
But some people in the United States, including probably those at the Pentagon, believe that it is insufficient. Again "greater realism" is desired. And where is a demand, there is always an offer. Not so long ago a certain private firm with an interesting name "Tactical Air Defense Services" (TADS) appeared in the USA.
As the company's web-site states TADS was founded to provide specialized services to the United States Department of Defense and allied foreign nations on combat training under conditions as much as possible approaching real dogfights with real adversaries.
The firm's President, CEO & Member of the Board of Directors is a certain Alexis C. Korybut. TADS company is headquartered at the Grayson County Airport in Denison, Texas, formerly Perrin Air Force Base.
Most remarkable is the fact that this private company owns a substantial collection of air assets. Among them are American-manufactured F-16 fighter-bombers and A-4 "Skyhawk" attack planes, some Czech-made L-39 "Albatross" combat training aircraft and the only commercially available IL-78 aerial refueling tankers in the world of probable Russian (some sources say of Uzbek) origin.
Recently the U.S. media reported that in October, 2007 TADS signed an exclusive fifteen year lease agreement with Air Support Systems, LLC for the use of its versatile ILyushin IL-76 supertanker aircraft. The company intends to utilize the firefighting IL-76 to bid for contracts with various state and federal agencies to assist in defeating forest fires.
However the real "shooting stars" of TADS aircraft inventory are Soviet (Russian)-manufactured MiG-29 "Fulcrums" and Su-27 "Flankers" which will be shortly delivered to the USA. Two MiG-29s was bought by TADS for $5.6 million from AeroGroup Incorporated, which earlier gained the contract on purchasing of these airplanes in Ukraine. Sukhois will be bought "in one of the CIS countries".
Bearing Sukhois and MiGs in mind experts from TADS have developed a special "unique" training program for pilots of USAF and NATO countries by utilizing a fleet of adversary aircraft that an air force would encounter in a true combat situation.
According to some sources, among pilots who will be sitting in Sukhois and MiGs cockpits could be not only skilled former pilots of the USAF, but also some veteran flyers of the former Soviet Air Force recruited by TADS in the CIS countries. Thus, the American and NATO pilots, as the firm promises, would have an opportunity to practice realistic air duels with the real aircraft commonly flown by "potential enemies of the United States and allied governments during conflict".
The firm also offers its clients to use Su and MiG jet fighters in a complex with IL-78 air tankers. This should dramatically increase duration, volume and efficiency of combat training missions. As TADS also informs training missions will be carried out on the nearby military ranges in Texas.
That last fact strongly confirms rather close ties of TADS with the Pentagon, and possibly the U.S. intelligence community. Anyone who desires to buy military hardware in the countries of the former USSR and deliver it to the USA would obviously need influential contacts and capabilities in Washington's corridors of power.
Meanwhile, TADS using the types of aircraft associated with the concrete foreign states to create abovementioned "combat realism" could hardly be named something other than purposeful forming of the concrete "enemy image". Such "commercial activities" in the USA, moreover if it is carried out in response to a "state order", obviously does not promote the international security in the modern world and definitely hampers the process of mutual trust building between different states.
