Technology in Service of Camouflage

If uniforms were once bright and stylish, today efforts are underway to develop uniforms that will aid the soldier in adapting himself to his surroundings, and much more.

The purpose of camouflage is to create visual deception by using color and scheme to break the body’s silhouette and blend the soldier into the surrounding environment.

World War I saw the first massive and organized use of uniforms with camouflage patterns. Until then, the trend in uniforms was the opposite: emphasize the fighting forces by using bright colors. At the start of the 20th century, artists and architects led this revolution when they were asked to design colorful patterns that integrated soldiers into the environments in which they fought.

For many years, the purpose of the uniform was for visual deception. Today, with the development of sophisticated detection measures, uniforms need to do much more. Efforts are underway in a number of Western countries to turn the uniform into advanced technology that is suited to deal with these threats.

The Middle East has many versions of camouflaged uniforms. The diverse landscape, which ranges from flora-filled valleys to barren deserts, has provided regional armies with the backdrop for a range of schemes.

In 2005, the Jordanian Army introduced a series of uniforms designed and developed by Canadian Hyperstealth Industries. The uniform, with the military designation KA2, has a digital scheme that includes six colors. The Jordanian Army is unique in that the entire army uses this same color scheme, with only a difference in one color to designate each individual branch.

The digital trend characterized by a pixelated appearance was originally developed for the Canadian Army. In recent years, this pattern found its way to other armies, including the US Army and the Chinese Army. The digital scheme is considered advanced for visual camouflage, as the color shades blend well.

The Lebanese Army has been using a US camouflage scheme from the 1980s. Known as “M81 Woodland Pattern,” this three-dimensional design is well-suited for the landscape in Lebanon.

The Egyptian Army, which usually operates in desert-like areas, updated its uniforms in the second half of the 1990s from the Egyptian Desert pattern - or “Scrambled Eggs,” as it used to be called in slang - to the sparse desert scheme that’s in use today.

The Syrian Army uses a locally produced version of the US M1948 ERDL uniform scheme from the 1980s. Besides being thicker, Syrian uniforms embrace a design that includes an organic leaf pattern called “Syrian Leaf.” The colors are a mixture of brown, green, and black against a lemon-green background.

With the exception of brief periods in the 1960s, the IDF adopted the monotonous green uniform, which has served it faithfully for dozens of years in both Sinai and Lebanon.

With recent talk of the need for updated uniforms, the IDF now stands before a revolution in this field. The next stage in field uniforms depends on technology. The future battlefield will be saturated with identification measures suited for any type of weather or light condition. Soldiers can no longer rely on the color of uniforms for camouflage - much more is required. If the IDF chooses to embrace the new technological uniforms that are now in development, it may be able to provide its soldiers with a significant operational advantage.