This is a list of military clothing camouflage patterns used for battledress. Military camouflage is the use of camouflage by armed forces to protect personnel and equipment from observation by enemy forces. Textile patterns for uniforms have multiple functions, including camouflage, identifying friend from foe, and esprit de corps. [1]
The list is organized by pattern; only patterned textiles are shown. It includes current and past issue patterns, with dates; users may include a wide range of military bodies.
Name | Family | Image | Issued | Users |
---|---|---|---|---|
Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) | Digital tigerstripe | 2008 | Formerly used by the United States Air Force and currently used by its civilian auxiliary, Civil Air Patrol. [2] [3] [4] | |
Alpine Tundra Pattern | Woodland | 2004 | Snow camouflage of the French Armed Forces. It is typically worn by the Alpine Hunters of the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade and other mountain units. It was developed by Terräng - MP-Sec France. The French Armed Forces were looking for a winter camo for their participation to the ISAF in Afghanistan. [5] | |
AOR-1 (NWU Type II) | Digital | 2010 | United States Navy, certain specialized units only. [6] [7] | |
AOR-2 (NWU Type III) | Digital | 2010 | United States Navy, specialized units before 2016, fleet-wide after 2016. [8] | |
A-TACS | Woodland | 2010 | Used by Peruvian marines [9] and the Haitian National Police. [10] Unlicensed copies are used by the National Guard of Russia under the name of "Ataka". [11] [12] "Original Foliage Green (FG)" variant shown. | |
Australian Multicam | Disruptive Pattern Camouflage | 2014 | Australia [13] | |
Bundeswehr Tropentarn (3-Farb-Tarndruck) | Flecktarn | 1993 | German Bundeswehr : [14] tropical battle dress uniform for desert and semi-arid regions (army and air force) was also in use in the Danish army until they changed to M/01 | |
Canadian Disruptive Pattern (CADPAT) | Digital | 2002 | Canada; four operational variants (Temperate Woodland operational variant shown) [15] | |
Camouflage Central-Europe | Woodland | 1994 | French Armed Forces [16] | |
Digital Camouflage Combat Uniform (DCCU) | Digital | 2011 | Taiwanese Army and Air Force [17] | |
Desert Camouflage Pattern (three-color) | Woodland | 1991 | Thailand (VDC), Egypt, United States [18] | |
Desert Camouflage Pattern (six-color) | Woodland | 1980s | United States (formerly). [19] United Arab Emirates (formerly). [20] Used by many other armies in many colour and pattern variations, including Argentina, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Kuwait, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, China, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Libya, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Korea (formerly), Spain (only in arid theaters) (formerly), Yemen. [21] | |
Desert Night Camouflage | ? | 1991 c. | United States (formerly) [22] | |
Disruptive Pattern Camouflage | Frog Skin | 1986–2017 | Australian Defence Force | |
Disruptive Pattern Material | DPM | 1968 | United Kingdom, DPM-95 shown. It replaced similar 1960 pattern DPM, introduced in 1968. [23] Replaced by Multi-Terrain Pattern. Indonesia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway (special forces) (formerly), Philippines, Russia, Yemen. | |
EMR Camouflage | Digital | 2011 | Russia [24] | |
Erbsenmuster | Flecktarn | 1944 | Germany [25] | |
Erbsentarnmuster | Flecktarn | 1957 - 1978 | Austrian Armed Forces [26] | |
ERDL (M1948) | Woodland | 1967–1988 | Singapore Armed Forces, [27] Turkish Armed Forces late 1980s–1990s, [28] was used by the USMC until the early 1980s and the U.S. Air Force until the late 1980s. | |
Flächentarnmuster, also called Kartoffelmuster (potato pattern), or Blumentarn (flower camouflage) | Flecktarn | 1956–1967 | East German National People's Army [29] | |
Flecktarn | Flecktarn | 1990 | Germany, [30] and at least 16 variants in different countries. Albania; [31] Belgium; [32] China until 2007; [33] Denmark 3-color variant; [34] France; [35] India; [36] Japan; [37] Kyrgyzstan; [38] Poland; [39] Russia; [11] Greece, Ukraine. | |
Frog Skin/Spot | Frog Skin | 1942 | United States. Reversible: 5-color jungle one side, 3-color beach the other. [40] Also sometimes called "Duckhunter." Used by the US, (primarily the USMC) in World War II. Remained in use by the USMC into the 1960s. Also used by Turkey until 1980s in different colorways. [28] | |
Hungarian camouflage pattern 2015M | Woodland | 2015 | Used by the Hungarian Defence Force introduced in 2015. [41] | |
HyperStealth Spec4ce Afghan Forest | Woodland | 2009 | Used by the Afghan National Army since 2010. [42] | |
Jigsaw | Puzzle | 1956 | Belgium [43] | |
Leibermuster | Woodland | 1945 | Germany [44] | |
Lizard | Lizard | 1947 | France [45] Many variants, both with horizontal stripes (Chad, Gabon, Rwanda, Sudan, Cuba, Congo, Greece) and with vertical stripes (Portugal 1963, then Egypt, Greece, India, Lebanese Palestinians, and Syria). Outside France, Tunisia has probably fielded more varieties of the lizard pattern than any other nation. [46] Vietnam era Tigerstripe is a variant of Lizard. [45] | |
M05 | Digital | 2007 c. | Finland [47] | |
MM-14 | Digital | 2014 | Ukrainian Army camouflage used since 2014, replacing the Dubok camo that was developed in 1980 and in service since 1984. [48] [49] Ukraine though now has multiple patterns that it received from NATO and other western partners since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ukraine uses blue and yellow markings on the uniform to prevent friendly fire. | |
M19 | Flecktarn | 2019 | NFP Green, Standard issued camouflage since 2019 in the Royal Netherlands Army . [50] [51] This camouflage is designed to be used in green areas, woods, and urban areas in Europe. Three additional colour variations are in use and are shown below. An arctic version of the NFP is being considered. [52] | |
M19 | Flecktarn | 2019 | NFP Multitone is in use in the Royal Netherlands Army. It is used for packs and load carriage equipment. The fabric being courser, it is difficult to incorporate all the details. I uses therefore less colours than the Tan and the Green, and takes mixes both so that they can use it in both environments efficiently enough. [53] | |
M19 | Flecktarn | 2020 | In use in the Royal Dutch Navy since 2020, and used by the Belgian Navy since 2021 [54] | |
M19 | Flecktarn | 2019 | Camouflage in use in the Royal Netherlands Army in desert and arid climates. [55] | |
M20 WoodLatPat | Splinter | — | 2020 | The Latvian Land Forces unveiled a new standard camouflage pattern. It uses a similar concept to the Swedish M90 Splinter camo, but with smaller shapes. [56] [57] |
M84 | Flecktarn | 1984 | Denmark; 9 color variants. [58] France; [34] [59] [60] Latvia; [61] Lithuania; [61] Russia; [34] Sweden; [62] Turkey; [63] Was used by Estonian Defence Forces until 2006, when it was replaced with ESTDCU [64] | |
M90F | Splinter | 1989 [65] | Standard camouflage of the Swedish armed forces. [66] The Latvian Land Forces used it in 1996 for the SFOR mission, the uniforms were surplus equipment of the Swedish Army. [56] [67] Two additional colour patterns exist and described below. | |
M90K | Splinter | 2004 | Introduced for the Afghan mission of the Swedish armed forces, colours of the standard M90F were changed for an arid environment. [68] | |
M90 Winter | Splinter | — | Used by Sweden and by the Royal Netherlands Army special force group Korps Commandotroepen (KCT) | |
M2017 | Woodland | 2017 | Introduced for the Romanian Armed Forces in 2017. Has three variants: Army, Navy, and Air Force. Similar to MultiCam. [69] | |
Marina Trans Jungle (US4CES) | Digital | — | 2015 | Mexican Naval Infantry |
Marine Pattern (MARPAT) | Digital | 2002 | United States Marine Corps (arid variant shown), [70] [71] some U.S. Navy sailors assigned to USMC units, and U.S. Marine Corps JROTC cadets. The temperate variant was used by the Georgian Army in the late 2000s, but has since been replaced by a domestic variant of MultiCam. [72] [ circular reference ] | |
MultiCam | Woodland | 2002 | U.S. Armed Forces, [73] Angola, [74] Brazil, [75] Australia, [76] [77] Austrian Armed Forces Jagdkommando, [78] Cypriot National Guard, [79] Denmark, [34] [58] Montenegro, [80] New Zealand, [81] Panama, [82] South Korea, [83] Thailand, [84] Bolivia, Tunisia, [85] Turkish Navy [28] Azerbaijani Armed Forces, the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, Georgian Armed Forces, [86] [ circular reference ] and the Haitian National Police. [87] Also known as Scorpion. Norwegian Special Forces (FSK, MJK) [88] [89] | |
Multi-Environment Pattern | Woodland | 2024 | French Army, [90] the BME (Bariolage Multi-Environnement) will replace the Central Europe Pattern and the Daguet Desert Pattern from 2024. The pattern was designed by the Technical Section of the Army . The base colour is the one used on all new French vehicles, "Brown French Soil" (Brun Terre de France). | |
Multi-Environment Winter Pattern | Woodland | — | 2024 | French Army, [90] it will replace the Alpine Tundra Pattern from 2024. This pattern is used by the "Alpine Rangers" [91] (Chasseurs Alpins). It uses the same pattern as the BME but with a white background, light gray spots, and small patches made of a darker colour based on a humid trunk. [92] |
Multitarn | Flecktarn | 2016 | In 2016, the Bundeswehr Research Institute for Materials and Operating Materials (WIWeB) developed a universal camouflage following the lead of many allies in their purchase of the MultiCam camo for their special forces, and its 6 colours are very close to it. It was developed as the new standard pattern for the Bundeswehr but has yet only entered service with the special forces. [93] [94] | |
Multi-Terrain Pattern | Disruptive Pattern Material | 2010 | British Armed Forces, [95] it is a combination of the Army's previous camouflage, DPM and MultiCam. It is supposedly more effective than MultiCam itself, due to the integration of more natural and fluid shapes of the DPM pattern. [96] | |
NWU Type I | Digital | 2008–2019 | United States Navy, [97] New York State Naval Militia, [98] and U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps. [99] Retired by the U.S. Navy in 2019. | |
Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) | Woodland | 2015 | United States, replacing Universal Camouflage Pattern by 2019. [100] An enlarged, slightly modified version of MultiCam. Also known as Scorpion W2. | |
Platanenmuster | Flecktarn | 1937 | Germany: summer (shown) and autumn variants. [25] | |
Rain pattern | Rain | 1960 c. | Warsaw Pact countries: Poland ("deszczyk"), Czechoslovakia ("jehličí"), East Germany ("Strichtarn"), and Bulgaria [101] [102] subsequent use: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan | |
Rhodesian Brushstroke | Brushstroke | 1965–1980 | Rhodesia [103] /Zimbabwe | |
Semi pixelated Arid Dessert pattern | semi-Digital | 2012 | Pakistan Army [104] | |
Soldier 2000 | Woodland | 1994 | South Africa [105] | |
Splittermuster | Splinter | 1931 | Germany 1931–1945 (Wehrmacht, SS, Reichswehr) [106] | |
Tactical Assault Camouflage (TACAM) | Organic, non-pixelated pattern | 2004 | U.S. National Counterterrorism Center [107] [108] | |
Tarnanzug ÖBH | Organic, non-pixelated pattern | 2017 | Austrian Armed Forces [109] [110] | |
Tarnanzug Beige ÖBH | Woodland | 2019 | Austrian Armed Forces [109] [110] | |
Tarndruck Beige PXL | Digital pattern | 2011 | Austrian Armed Forces [111] [112] | |
Tarndruck SEK PXL | Digital pattern | 2014 | Austrian Armed Forces [111] [112] | |
TAZ 83 | Woodland | 1983 | Switzerland [113] | |
TAZ 90 | Woodland | 1990s | Switzerland [113] | |
TAZ 07 | Woodland | 2007 | Switzerland [114] Only used for missions abroad, such as in arid countries (Mali), it can also be used in missions abroad in summer in countries such as Kosovo (Swisscoy as part of KFOR) or in South Korea (NNSC mission). The pattern is based on the TAZ 90. | |
Multiumfeld-Tarnmuster 16 . [115] | Woodland | 2022 | Switzerland [116] [117] This camouflage will be the standard one for the new personal equipment of the Swiss Army (MBAS armament program). The pattern is based on the TAZ 90, and the black colour was replaced by a light brown, and is also designed to provide multispectral stealth properties (IR and radar). | |
Telo mimetico | Woodland precursor | 1929 | Italy, for shelter-halves, then uniforms. Oldest mass-produced camouflage pattern. [118] | |
Tigerstripe | Tigerstripe | 1969 c. | South Vietnam, US special forces in Vietnam. Based on Lizard. Many variants. Also used by Australia, New Zealand in Vietnam. [119] [120] | |
Turkish M2008 'Nano' | semi-Digital | 2008-2021 | Turkish Armed Forces and Azerbaijani Armed Forces 5 variants [28] | |
Turkish M2021 | semi-Digital | 2021 | Turkish Armed Forces and Azerbaijani Armed Forces 4 variants [28] | |
Type 99 (China) | Woodland | 1999 | China [121] | |
Type 07 (China) | Digital | 2007 | China. Ocean variant shown. [121] | |
Universal Camouflage Pattern | Digital | 2005–2014/19 | United States Army, [122] some U.S. Navy sailors assigned to army units, [123] the Texas State Guard, [124] Chadian Army, [125] and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Also used by the Iranian military in limited contexts. | |
U.S. Woodland ("M81") | Woodland | 1981 | Derived from ERDL. [126] Used by the United States Navy SEALs, U.S. Navy SWCC, USMC MARSOC, [127] Luxembourg, [128] Argentine marines, [129] Azerbaijani Armed Forces, Bangladesh Army, [130] the Dutch Marine Corps, [131] Peruvian marines, [132] and the Nigerian Navy. [133] Was used by the Afghan National Army and the Mexican Naval Infantry [134] in the 2000s. Also used by the Moldovan Special Forces, [135] [136] Malaysian navy, [137] Malawian Army, Tunisian Army's Special Forces Group [138] and Turkey until mid-2000s in 3 colorways. [28] | |
VSR-93 Flora | Woodland | 1993 | Russia [139] | |
wz. 68 Moro | "Worm pattern" [140] | 1969–1989 | Polish People's Army; 6 variant colorways. [141] [142] [143] | |
wz. 89 Puma | "Reptile Pattern" [140] | 1989–1993 | Polish Armed Forces, [144] National Army of Afghanistan. [145] | |
wz. 93 Pantera | Woodland | 1993 | Polish Armed Forces, [146] Armed Forces of Ukraine, [147] Armed Forces of Armenia. [148] | |
K17 [149] (Type 17) | Modified duck hunter pattern | 2017/2018 | Vietnam; [150] [151] 5 variant colorways | |
K20 (Type 20) | Woodland | 2019/2020–present | Vietnam; 6 variant colorways [152] | |
M06 ESTDCU | Digital | 2006 | Estonian Defence Forces [153] | |
M/98 Woodland | Woodland | 1998–Present | Norway [154] | |
Graphite B | Digital | 2011-present | South Korea [155] [156] |
The Bundeswehr is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Bundeswehr is divided into a military part and a civil part, the military part consisting of the German Army, German Navy, German Air Force, Joint Support Service, Joint Medical Service, and Cyber and Information Domain Service.
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.
The Army Combat Uniform (ACU) is the current combat uniform worn by the United States Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force and some elements of the U.S. Coast Guard. Within the Air Force and Space Force, it is referred to as the OCP Uniform, rather than the Army Combat Uniform.
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.
MultiCam is a camouflage pattern designed for use in a wide range of environments and conditions which was developed and is produced by American company Crye Precision. The pattern has found extensive adoption globally. Variants of it, some unlicensed, are in use with militaries worldwide, particularly with special forces/special operations forces units.
The Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) is a U.S. camouflage combat uniform formerly worn by members of the United States Air Force, United States Space Force, and some civilian employees of the U.S. Department of the Air Force until April 2021. It replaced the Battle Dress Uniform and Desert Camouflage Uniform on 1 November 2011 after a four-year phase-in period.
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.
Type 87 is a camouflage pattern used by People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China.
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 coverall became one of the most widely used in the Soviet Union.
The Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) is a digital camouflage pattern formerly used by the United States Army in their Army Combat Uniform.
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 Camouflage Central-Europe is the standard camouflage pattern of the French Armed Forces.
M1929 Telo mimetico was a military camouflage pattern used by the Italian Army for shelter-halves and later for uniforms for much of the 20th century. Being first issued in 1929 and only fully discontinued in the early 1990s, it has the distinction of being the first printed camouflage pattern for general issue, and the camouflage pattern in longest continuous use in the world.
The M/84 camouflage pattern, is the former camouflage pattern of the Danish military. The M/84 is a derivative of the Flecktarn B pattern produced by the German firm Marquardt & Schulz. Using the same shapes and pattern, the number of colours was changed from 5 to 3 – choosing olive green, light green and black to better match the colouration of the Danish woodland environment.
The Wz. 93 Pantera pattern has become the standard camouflage of the Polish Armed Forces. It is the successor of the wz. 89 Puma pattern, and entered service in 1993. It differs from Puma in having stronger contrast, resulting in better disruptive camouflage.
German World War II camouflage patterns formed a family of disruptively patterned military camouflage designs for clothing, used and in the main designed during the Second World War. The first pattern, Splittertarnmuster, was designed in 1931 and was initially intended for Zeltbahn shelter halves. The clothing patterns developed from it combined a pattern of interlocking irregular green, brown, and buff polygons with vertical "rain" streaks. Later patterns, all said to have been designed for the Waffen-SS by Johann Georg Otto Schick, evolved into more leaf-like forms with rounded dots or irregular shapes. Camouflage smocks were designed to be reversible, providing camouflage for two seasons, whether summer and autumn, or summer and winter (snow). Distribution was limited to the Waffen-SS, ostensibly because of a patent, though variants were used by other units, including the Luftwaffe. Production was limited by shortage of materials, especially of high quality waterproof cotton duck.
E.M.R. ; 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 V.K.B.O. All-Season Uniform.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Trooper, AATTV, Vietnam 1970 ... wears the 'Tigerstripe' pattern of camouflage, which became a virtual signature of Allied Special Forces during the war
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Media related to Military camouflage patterns at Wikimedia Commons