Originally Posted by
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!
Actually it's to indicate sponsorship. The pilot agrees to have a certain amount of money docked out of his paycheck and once it's passed a certain level, then he gets his name painted on the side of his chosen aircraft. It's a way for the government to reduce crippling defence costs.
You also noticed the rank painted there, That really indicates the level of contribution and was chosen as it seemed so much more professional than using Silver, Gold, Platinum etc.
I believe for extra cash you can also have your pennant painted on too.
Of course for landaways if the named pilot is not on board the operating pilot had to carry a can of the appropriate coloured spray paint to hide the fact that he is not actually 4* CAS. They did try stickon magnetic star plates but fortunately these fell off the plastic jet otherwise they might have upset the compass system.