Drone and target kill markings stencilled on a US Navy jet

Kill Markings Explained: Why Fighter Jets Wear Flags, Stars and Drones

by Connor Kerr | Sep 27, 2026 | Aviación militar | 0 comments

Look closely below the cockpit of a fighter coming home from a war and you may see a neat row of small symbols: flags, stars, roundels, and lately the silhouettes of drones. Each one is a claim. This jet, and its crew, shot something down.

Kill markings, or victory markings, are one of the oldest traditions in military aviation. They began in the First World War, flourished in the Second, and are having a revival today as fighters return from the air wars over Ukraine and the Middle East with rows of drone silhouettes on their noses. Here is what they mean, where they came from and who gets to paint them.

Datos rápidos

Qué: Symbols painted or stencilled on an aircraft, ship or vehicle to record a victory
Origen: First World War, when squadrons began recording pilots' scores with enemy flags or insignia
WWII style: The enemy's national emblem: swastikas for German aircraft, rising suns for Japanese, fasces for Italian
Other symbols: Bombs for bombing missions, umbrellas for top cover, brooms for fighter sweeps, cameras for reconnaissance sorties
Fuerza Aérea de los Estados Unidos standard: Since 2010, green stars with a black border and the defeated aircraft type stencilled inside, per Wikipedia
Modern targets: Aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and drones

From Squadron Scoreboards to Fuselages

In the First World War, pilots tracked their aerial victories closely, and squadrons began recording scores with flags or insignia representing the enemy nation, according to the US Naval Institute's Naval History magazine. By the Second World War the marks had moved onto the aircraft themselves.

“By World War II, the U.S. Navy had adopted the practice of adding marks directly to the fuselage of its victorious planes.”

Naval History magazine — US Naval Institute, A Brief Illustrated History of Navy Victory Markings, August 2022

The usual form was the national emblem of the defeated enemy. American fighter pilots painted swastikas for German aircraft, rising suns for Japanese and fasces for Italian, usually near or below the cockpit, according to the National WWII Museum. The US Navy's top scorer, Captain David McCampbell, finished the war with 34 aerial victories in his F6F Hellcat.

TJ3 History on one of the rarest kill markings ever painted on an aircraft. Video: TJ3 History

Bombs, Brooms and Umbrellas

Not every symbol records a kill. Bomber crews painted a small bomb for each mission, sometimes with a star for missions flown as group or wing lead. Escort fighters used a top hat, gloves or a walking stick. An open umbrella meant a top-cover patrol over the bombers, and a broom meant a fighter sweep. Transports added parachutes for drops and red crosses for medical evacuation flights, and reconnaissance aircraft painted cameras.

“Small bomb silhouettes painted on the nose depicting each mission flown.”

The National WWII Museum — Decoding WWII Plane Nose Art

Ships and boats had their own traditions. According to Naval History, submarines kept separate tallies for merchant ships and warships, PT boats used flags, minesweepers counted mines, and aircraft carriers recorded everything from ships to vehicles.

Israeli F-16A Netz 107 with kill markings — Israeli Air Force F-16A Netz 107 and a close-up of its kill markings: roundels of the air forces whose aircraft it shot down. Netz 107 also flew in the 1981 strike on Iraq's Osirak reactor. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Roundels, Stars and Standards

Air forces that fight other air forces often use the enemy's roundel. Israeli jets are a famous example: rows of Arab air force roundels under the canopy, each one an aerial victory. The Israeli F-16A Netz 107 is one of the best known, credited with aerial kills in the early 1980s as well as the 1981 raid on the Osirak nuclear reactor.

The US Air Force has formalised its markings. According to Wikipedia's summary of current practice, victory markings since 2010 take the form of six-inch green stars with a black border, with the type of aircraft defeated stencilled inside in white.

Israeli F-15C Baz with kill roundels — Kill roundels below the cockpit of an Israeli Air Force F-15C Baz on display at Tel Nof. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

The Drone Era

The newest markings are silhouettes of drones and cruise missiles. As air forces spend more of their time shooting down one-way attack drones such as the Iranian-designed Shahed, the scoreboards have filled up with small delta-winged shapes. Ukraine's air defence systems, including Gepard anti-aircraft tanks and Patriot batteries, carry markings for Russian aircraft, missiles and Shahed drones.

US jets returning from the Middle East have come home with rows of drone silhouettes too. We have covered F-15E Strike Eagles returning to Lakenheath y Mountain Home F-15Es with exactly that mix of nose art and drone kills.

Former fighter pilots react to an A-10 spotted with drone kill markings. Video: The Mover and Gonky Show

Who Decides What Counts?

A kill marking is a claim, not proof. Wartime claims are often higher than what the enemy actually lost, because several pilots may fire at the same aircraft and a damaged aircraft can look destroyed. That is why historians treat scoreboards as evidence of what a unit believed at the time, and check them against the other side's records wherever they can.

Still, to the crews the symbols mean something no statistic can. A row of stencils is a record of the days when a jet did what it was built for, and brought its crew home afterwards.

A short history of aircraft kill markings. Video: Premier History

Sources: Wikipedia (Victory marking), US Naval Institute Naval History magazine, The National WWII Museum

Preguntas frecuentes

What are kill markings on fighter jets?

Kill markings, or victory markings, are symbols painted or stencilled on a military aircraft to record victories by its pilot or crew. They traditionally show the flag or roundel of the enemy defeated, and today can also mark helicopters, cruise missiles and drones shot down.

When did aircraft kill markings start?

Kill markings began in the First World War, when squadrons recorded pilots' victories with flags or insignia of the enemy nation. By the Second World War, air forces such as the US Navy were painting the marks directly onto the fuselages of the aircraft that scored them.

What kill markings did WWII fighters use?

American fighter pilots in WWII usually painted the national emblem of the enemy: swastikas for German aircraft, rising suns for Japanese and fasces for Italian. The markings normally appeared near or below the cockpit, sometimes alongside nose art.

What do bombs, brooms and umbrellas painted on aircraft mean?

They are mission symbols rather than kills. In WWII a bomb recorded a bombing mission, an umbrella a top-cover patrol, a broom a fighter sweep, a top hat or walking stick an escort mission, a parachute an airdrop and a camera a reconnaissance sortie.

What do US Air Force victory markings look like today?

Since 2010, US Air Force victory markings have taken the form of six-inch green stars with a black border, with the type of aircraft defeated stencilled inside in white lettering, according to Wikipedia's summary of current practice.

Do fighter jets get kill markings for shooting down drones?

Yes. Modern victory markings include drone and cruise-missile silhouettes. US fighters returning from the Middle East and Ukrainian air defence systems such as Gepards and Patriots carry markings for drones, including Iranian-designed Shaheds, that they have shot down.