British Army gets new camo!!

news.bbc.co.uk...

The uniform of the British Army is to be changed for the first time in almost 40 years.

The new Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) will replace the traditional four colour woodland uniform known as No.8: Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM).

Forces in Afghanistan will start to get the new uniforms in March next year, with the whole army upgraded by 2011.

MTP is designed for a wide range of environments, including the volatile "green zone" of Helmand province.

British troops in Afghanistan currently use a mix of desert camouflage and temperate DPM, depending on which area they are operating in.

There are three main types of terrain in Helmand - desert, the agricultural "green zone" either side of the Helmand river, and residential areas with dusty buildings and mud huts.

One soldier said that the mix-and-match was far from ideal and made units stand out, especially in the "green zone".

Not surprise that Multicam was chosen. Even the U.S. military is already considering adopting that pattern, but still testing the camo in Afghanistan right now before making the final decision. They already testing other camos along with Multicam.

reply to post by deltaboy


I foresee the Gear up for the war with Iran...

Developed by Crye Precision,i think i prefer the woodland type.
Apologies i am biased as my Grandmother used to make uniforms at Smiths in Derby and i always make sure that the label inside states such before purchasing.

I think the uniform killed itself in that simple video. At one point the camera pans round to the front of the soldiers, all three infront of a bush.

The desert camoflague stood out...fair enough.
The woodland DPM blended surprisingly well.
The multicam stood out just as much as the desert cam.

Now, if woodland DPM works for green areas, and desert DPM works for desert areas. Why replace both with one that doesn't work in green areas, and by a quick imagination doesn't work in desert areas, but may just work in areas that are a mix of both.

A third uniform maybe, for those in the greenzone... but stick that guy in a forest next to his woddland pal, and I know which one I'll find first.


This is the whole point of having two unforms, theyre specialised...you don't beat a specialised uniform with a standardised one.

They should go back to the tall hats and red coats. Shock and awe.

What i dont like about this is that it was also chosen to represent british armed forces, " its your corporate image, we wanted to retain that would be the british army and well respected!" in short ofcourse but i mean come on, since when did camo become a apart of where your from???

As an ex airman and ex soldier, I do take umbrage with what was said by the orator in the video.

Okay, so the desert cam stood out - against the green background. Well it would do, as it's been designed for operations in the Middle East and not NW Europe.

No mention was made of arctic warfare. That would stand out like a lump of coal in a snowdrift. Are we to suppose that our lads will revert to using white 'wraps' or 'overcoats'?

If that is the case, then why not have a 'wrap' or 'overcoat' that could be worn over the Desert or European cam kit?

The new cam stood out for me not least, because it is too bright. One would suppose that it might 'blend in' at middle and far distance.

On a far more practicable 'user friendly' basis, how does it get laundered?

With modern detergents that are mainly bleaching 'surfactants', will they not fade the pattern over time, thus whitening the garment?

Have you seen any of this kit Paddy?

[edit on 22-12-2009 by fritz]

Originally posted by Free4Ever2
What i dont like about this is that it was also chosen to represent british armed forces, " its your corporate image, we wanted to retain that would be the british army and well respected!" in short ofcourse but i mean come on, since when did camo become a apart of where your from???

Actually, if you spend enough time around soldiers from different nations, you can easily tell the difference. For instance. the US camo is quite different from the Brit one. I think they just wanted to keep that distinction and not try to emulate the camo of another country.

Originally posted by fritz
Have you seen any of this kit Paddy?

No, and to be honest I don't really want to. I don't like the idea of wearing something that is 'not too bad' in most environments. I want to wear something that is 'pretty f****** good' in the environment I'm working in.

The DPM of the kit worn in Helmand all goes brown after about 2 weeks anyway no matter what colour it was to start off with. That's why we don't see a two tone effect despite most of the boys still wearing temperate pattern webbing/dayscaks over desert clothing. It all fades to one colour in no time squared.

Plus this is going to cost most of us a fortune as we'll have to replace any privately purchaced kit in the current DPM so as not to p1ss off the badge.

I say keep the 2 types of DPM and wear what is appropriate for the job in hand. Carrying a spare pair if trousers and shirt in the other DPM solves most problems. The only place this may be a problem is in body armour. This can't be adapted quickly in the same way as clothing. Here I'd say the temperate DPM would be a better choice, but printed with lighter tones so as not to appear so dark. Jobs a good'un.

US Army Cammo
xbradtc.files.wordpress.com...

British Cammo
i.dailymail.co.uk...

Civilian Hunting Cammo
www.thefirearmblog.com...

One day they will get the idea...

[edit on 23-12-2009 by ThePeoplesSoldier]

reply to post by ThePeoplesSoldier[/url]

WOW! Those civvie cam kits are amazing! They blend in so well.

But what a pity trees don't grow sidewards instead of straight up.

'Cause when you go prone in close combat, you'll stick out like a sore thumb. Think it through guy.

That's what was wrong with the Tiger Stripe cammies of the Viet Nam era.

Good points Paddy and, as usual, well presented in your indomitable way.

reply to post by fritz


I did think it through considering im wearing Army ACU camo right now. I wore it in Iraq as well. It sucks. Straight up. It was so bad infact that we usualy rolled in the dirt before we went out on mission just so we would blend slightly better.

All these points are arbitrary anyways the majority of our army is mobilized and nomatter how much camo you wear they are going to see ya comin in a humvee, ASV, tank, what ever.

Quite frankly there is no cam that is effective in all environments. There are simply too many factors present.

Civilian hunting cam is based on immitation as opposed to disruption. It is printed with specific patterns such as leaves or tree bark to blend in with these surroundings. It is absolutely fantastic in the environment it is designed for, but becomes less than useless out of it.

The aim of British DPM is to alter the eyes perception of what is seen so as to look less like a person. It is not designed to make you look like your environment. The human eye becomes accustomed to seeing the traditional human shape (four limbs, torso, head) and is thus drawn to that shape. DPM aims to disrupt that pattern in order to blur that shape. This can be aided with the use of local vegitation to further break up the outline. Hence the seemingly random shapes and colours printed on the material. However we also have to get the colour right or else you will become a random jumble of abstract colour against your backround.

Edited to add

I just saw some of this in a different context and it actually looks not too bad. I have spoken to a 'source' who was on the trials and develiopment team for it. He is not prone to bull s*** about such things. He stated that it worked surprisingly well and actually outperformed DPM in ranges of 100m+.

Oh well, I've been wrong before...

[edit on 24-12-2009 by PaddyInf]

I sense a huge camo surplus market approaching.

Jesus

Simple first rule of the art camo is to break up the lines clearly the colours matter but tho's sticks would not make a blind bit of difference in that type of environment you would get clipped for sure, thats perfect camouflage & concealment right there, theres a reason for civvy hunting even fishing camouflage as to being leagues ahead, and that the cost issue. nothing more,

they upgraded the camo because of the terrain in helmand province is different to that of iraq/basra, its been on the cards for years