| Jigsaw camouflage | |
|---|---|
 Closeup of Belgian Jigsaw camouflage | |
| Type | Military camouflage pattern |
| Place of origin | Belgium |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1956-2022 |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Seyntex[ citation needed ] |
| Variants | See Patterns |
Jigsaw camouflage is the colloquial term for a series of camouflage patterns used by the Belgian Armed Forces between 1956 and 2022 and subsequently adapted in several other countries.
After its adoption by the Belgian military in 1956, it was originally mainly used by Paracommandos. [1] It was subsequently adopted across the Belgian Armed Forces underwent several variations from the original design. The final temperate variation was implemented in 2016.[ citation needed ]
A distinct jigsaw camouflage pattern inspired by the Belgian precedent was adopted by certain units of the Forces Armées Zaïroises in Zaire, a former Belgian colony, into the 1990s. [2] Similar variants were also produced elsewhere in Africa.
As part of the introduction of the Belgian Defence Clothing System, it was announced that the pattern would be phased out by the Belgian Armed Forces in favour of Multicam from November 2022. [3] The contract was awarded to Sioen and Seyntex with Crye Precision under a budget of €410 million. [4] The pattern is held by an American patent. [4]
The main Belgian four-tone temperate version was officially designated as "Woodland". [3] A desert version was also produced.
A number of jigsaw camouflage patterns inspired on the Belgian original have been adopted by foreign militaries. A Burundian variant with darker colors and a version with blue colorways were used by the Burundian military and police. [5]
Burundi: Known to be used by "certain local units" under Belgian colonial rule and briefly after independence by Burundian National Army. [5] 
Chad: Belgian-based jigsaw camo used by Chadian Army in 1980s. [7] 
Democratic Republic of Congo: Formerly used by Force Publique and Armée Nationale Congolaise. [8] 
Luxembourg: Belgian woodland and desert versions used by the Luxembourg Armed Forces during the War in Afghanistan. [9] 
Flecktarn is a family of three-, four-, five- or six-color disruptive camouflage patterns, the most common being the five-color pattern, consisting of dark green, grey-green, red brown, and black over a light green or tan base depending on the manufacturer. The original German five-color pattern was designed for use in European temperate woodland terrain. A three-color variation called Tropentarn is intended for arid and desert conditions; the German Bundeswehr wore it in Afghanistan.
MARPAT is a multi-scale camouflage pattern in use with the United States Marine Corps, designed in 2001 and introduced from late 2002 to early 2005 with the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU), which replaced the Camouflage Utility Uniform. Its design and concept are based on the Canadian CADPAT pattern. The pattern is formed of small rectangular pixels of color. In theory, it is a far more effective camouflage than standard uniform patterns because it mimics the dappled textures and rough boundaries found in natural settings. It is also known as the "digital pattern" or "digi-cammies" because of its micropattern (pixels) rather than the old macropattern.
A combat uniform, also called field uniform, battledress or military fatigues, is a casual type of uniform used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for everyday fieldwork and combat duty purposes, as opposed to dress uniforms worn in functions and parades. It generally consists of a jacket, trousers and shirt or T-shirt, all cut to be looser and more comfortable than more formal uniforms. Design may depend on regiment or service branch, e.g. army, navy, air force, marines, etc. In the army branches, fabrics tend to come in camouflage, disruptive pattern or else green, brown or khaki monochrome, in order to approximate the background and make the soldier less visible in nature. In Western dress codes, field uniform is considered equivalent to civilian casual wear. As such, field uniform is considered less formal than service dress uniform, generally aimed at office or staff use, as well as mess dress uniform, and full dress uniform.
Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM) is the commonly used name of a camouflage pattern used by the British Armed Forces as well as many other armed forces worldwide, particularly in former British colonies.
Tiger stripe is the name of a group of camouflage patterns developed for close-range use in dense jungle during jungle warfare by the South Vietnamese Armed Forces and adopted in late 1962 to early 1963 by US Special Forces during the Vietnam War. During and after the Vietnam War, the pattern was adopted by several other Asian countries. It derives its name from its resemblance to a tiger's stripes and were simply called "tigers." It features narrow stripes that look like brush-strokes of green and brown, and broader brush-strokes of black printed over a lighter shade of olive or khaki. The brush-strokes interlock rather than overlap, as in French Lizard pattern (TAP47) from which it apparently derives.
MultiCam is a camouflage pattern designed for use in a wide range of environments and conditions which was specifically developed and is produced by American company Crye Precision. As a result of the pattern's effectiveness across disparate environments and regions, it has found extensive adoption globally. Variants of it, some unlicensed, are in use with armed forces worldwide, particularly with special operations units.
The Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCU) is an arid-environment camouflage uniform that was used by the United States Armed Forces from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s. In terms of pattern and textile cut, it is identical to the U.S. military's Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) uniform, but features a three-color desert camouflage pattern of dark brown, pale olive green, and beige, as opposed to the four-color woodland pattern of the BDU. It replaced the previous Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU) which featured a six-color "chocolate chip" pattern of beige, pale olive green, two tones of brown, and black and white rock spots. Although completely phased out of frontline use in the U.S. Armed Forces, some pieces and equipment printed in the DCU camouflage pattern are used in limited numbers such as MOPP suits and/or vests.
The Kamuflirovannyy Letniy Maskirovochnyy Kombinezon or KLMK is a military uniform with a camouflage pattern developed in 1968 by the Soviet Union to overcome the widespread use of night vision optics and devices by NATO countries. This one-piece camouflage suit became one of the most widely used in the Soviet Union.
The Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) is a digital military camouflage pattern formerly used by the United States Army in their Army Combat Uniform. Technicians at Natick Soldier Systems Center attempted to devise a uniform pattern that would mask the wearer in all seasonal environments. Laboratory and field tests from 2003 to 2004 showed a pattern named "All-Over-Brush" to provide the best concealment of the patterns tested. All-Over-Brush was selected as the winner over ten other patterns. The disadvantage of an all-in-one pattern is that it is a combination of what is effective in many different environments and is less effective in a particular environment when compared to a specialized coloration designed specifically for that environment. The winning All-Over-Brush pattern was not used as the final UCP. Instead, U.S. Army leadership utilized pixellated images taken from Canadian CADPAT and US Marine Corps MARPAT, then recolored them based on three universal colors developed in the Army's 2002-2004 tests, to be called the UCP. While the pixelated pattern of the UCP is similar to the MARPAT and CADPAT camouflage patterns used by the United States Marine Corps and the Canadian Armed Forces, its coloration differs significantly. The final UCP was then adopted without field testing against other patterns.
The lizard pattern is a family of many related designs of military camouflage pattern, first used by the French Army on uniforms from 1947 to the late 1980s. It was based on the British paratroopers' Denison smock. The use of the pattern is widespread in Africa, despite its association with France, because armed factions and militaries tend to obtain them from whichever source has it available.
The U.S. Woodland is a camouflage pattern that was used as the default camouflage pattern issued to the United States Armed Forces from 1981, with the issue of the Battle Dress Uniform, until its replacement in the mid to late 2000s. It is a four color, high contrast disruptive pattern with irregular markings in green, brown, sand and black. It is also known unofficially by its colloquial moniker of "M81" after the Battle Dress Uniform it was first used on, though this term was not officially used by the U.S. military.
The ERDL pattern, also known as the Leaf pattern, is a camouflage pattern developed by the United States Army at its Engineer Research & Development Laboratories (ERDL) in 1948. It was not used until the Vietnam War, when it was issued to elite reconnaissance and special operations units beginning early 1967.
The M05, sometimes known as the M05 Terrain Pattern, is a family of military camouflage patterns used by the Finnish Defence Forces on uniforms and other equipment. The pattern is licensed by the Finnish Defence Forces and became available to the public on 26 September 2016.
The Camouflage Central-Europe is the standard camouflage pattern of the French Armed Forces.
The Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) is the standard camouflage pattern of the British Armed Forces.
Canadian Disruptive Pattern is the computer-generated digital camouflage pattern developed for use by the Canadian Armed Forces. Four operational variations of CADPAT have been used by the Canadian Armed Forces: a temperate woodland pattern, an arid regions pattern, a winter operations pattern, and a multi-terrain pattern.
The Frog Skin, also known as Duck Hunter, is a battledress camouflage pattern with mottle and disruptive coloration to blend into the environment similar to a frog's crypsis skin.
The Netherlands Fractal Pattern (NFP) was developed as a collaboration project between the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and the Dutch Ministry of Defence in order to replace all the camouflage patterns in use by the Dutch military.
EMR ; or Universal Camouflage Colourway in English, is a military camouflage pattern in use by the Russian Armed Forces. It is sometimes referred to by the unofficial nicknames RUSPAT, Tetris, Tsifra and Digital Flora. EMR camouflage is the standard camouflage pattern of the Russian Military's VKBO All-Season Uniform.
