British Army Gets New Camouflage Uniforms
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8422942.stm
Telegraph.co.uk Article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/6844734/British-Army-to-get-new-uniforms---turned-down-by-the-US-and-made-in-China.html
British Army to get new uniforms – turned down by the US and made in
China
The British Army is introducing a new camouflage design for all its
soldiers after tests showed that it made them less likely to be seen
by the enemy.
By Jasper Copping
Published: 7:30AM GMT 20 Dec 2009
The new camouflage: British Army to get new uniforms ? turned down by
the US and made in China
The new uniform has a combination of seven colours which help troops
to merge into the background Photo: DAVID ROSE
The new uniform has a combination of seven colours which help troops
to merge into the background. Commanders hope the move – the biggest
change to the uniform for more than 40 years – will help to reduce
casualties in Afghanistan.
The design will replace both the "desert" camouflage used on
operations in the country as well as the darker coloured, "temperate"
– or "woodland" – camouflage worn by forces stationed in Europe and
elsewhere.
Called "multi terrain pattern", or MTP, the camouflage will first be
used in Afghanistan, from March next year. From 2011, it will be
rolled out across units based elsewhere in the world. The old designs
are to be phased out completely by 2016.
The uniform has been designed to give cover to soldiers operating in
all types of terrain, across the globe. The Ministry of Defence (MoD)
hope this will be of particular help in Afghanistan, where soldiers
can find themselves, within a matter of minutes, crossing from arid
desert to the lush vegetation of the "Green Zone" along the Helmand
River, where their lighter coloured camouflage – designed for use in
Iraq – does not offer the best cover. Indeed, when operating in the
greener areas, which turn brown in the winter when the rains come,
many troops revert to the "woodland", European camouflage.
British forces operating in Afghanistan reached a grim milestone
earlier this month, with 100 servicemen killed this year and the new
uniform has been designed to give them a new advantage in their fight
with the Taliban.
The design is derived from a camouflage called MultiCam, which was
developed by an American company, Crye Precision, in association with
the US Army. However, it was not ultimately adopted by Washington for
its main uniform, although some units may still use it in the future.
It is now available commercially and is used by sports gunmen.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has paid the US company an undisclosed
sum for use of the new design and has secured intellectual property
rights over the MTP camouflage to prevent others from using it without
permission.
It comprises a total of seven colours, although the exact colours are
not released by the MoD in order to make it harder to reproduce. The
kit is to be produced by a Northern Irish company, but will be made in
China.
Lt Col Toby Evans, who has been involved in the new design, said: "The
strength of this is that sometimes it looks very green, Sometimes it
looks very brown. It seems to work well wherever you are. Because of
the variety of colours, there is always something to pick out which is
quite close to the background."
The design process, which has taken six months and cost £250,000,
involved a combination of computer analysis, where the colours from a
variety of Afghan landscapes were studied, performance tests and also
a "focus group" session, involving servicemen.
The MoD said the tests showed that soldiers wearing the new design
were less likely to be spotted than those dressed in other camouflage
and when they were, it took three times longer to be picked out than
those in the next best performing pattern.
The focus group phase involved a "fashion show" of up to 60 soldiers.
Modern-style "digital" or "pixilated" camouflages, which are used by,
among others, the Canadian and Germany military, were rejected as
being "too 1990s."
Lt Col Gary Jackson, who was involved in the process, said: "I think
Richard Holmes (the historian) said, 'there's something of the dandy
in all military people'."
Other designs filtered out included some that bore resemblance to
uniforms of the Second World War Waffen SS units.
The final design retains the same distinctive "splash" patterns as
previous British uniforms.
As well as the clothes, new helmets, body armour and webbing – belts
with pouches – will also be introduced in the new design which will be
used by the Royal Marines and the RAF Regiment. More formal, "service
dress" will remain the same.
Lance Cpl Alex Wood, from 40 Commando Royal Marines who served in
Afghanistan last year and will be returning in March when the new
uniform will be first used, said: "I think it will be quite useful. In
the Green Zone, we were using the green camouflage tops and desert
bottoms, to get the right match."
Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, said: “This new camouflage will
help our troops blend into different environments in Helmand Province
to stay hidden from the Taliban. Patrols take our troops through the
Green Zone, scrubland, desert and arid stony environments and it is
crucial that the camouflage can work across all of them.
“We are striving to provide our brave troops with the very best
personal kit and equipment and the new Multi-Terrain Pattern is just
one example of how we are supporting our troops on the Afghanistan
frontline.”