Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz Republic

The Kyrgyz Republic (Кыргыз Республикасы) is an independent Central Asian republic, formerly a part of the Soviet Union. The nation declared itself independent on 31 August, 1991.

The Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan were largely inherited from the Turkestan Military District of the USSR, but have been restructured and re-fitted in the years since the country was declared independent. In addition to the ground forces of the Army, Air and Air Defense units, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has its own Internal Troops (including a number of special operations units), as do the Border Guards. The 25th Special Forces Brigade composes the primary special operations troops of Kyrgyzstan.

Camouflage Patterns of Kyrgyzstan Armed Forces

• Soviet-style camouflage remained in use with the Kyrgyz Armed Forces for a number of years, although colorations were atypical and may have been developed specifically for Soviet forces of the Turkestan Military District. The pattern most commonly associated with Uzbekistan was also apparently in use with Kyrgyz troops in the mid-1990s.

• East German rain pattern camouflage (strichtarn) was also in use with some Kyrgyz military forces in the late 1990s. The uniforms may have been obtained directly from Germany, although they appear to be locally-modified.

• Although introduced after the Soviet Union had collapsed, the Russian "flora" camouflage pattern was issued in some numbers to the Kyrgyz Armed Forces between 1998 and 2006.

• Kyrgyzstan is one of several ex-Soviet republics to have befriended the United States shortly after declaring independence. The nation has benefitted from US military training and frequently conducts exercises with American military personnel as well as other Central Asian countries. In the late 1990s, surplus US m81 woodland camouflage BDUs as well as Asian-manufactured copies began to appear scattered among Kyrgyz units. Several variations have been documented.

• An interesting variation of the standard woodland pattern has a bright yellow background color and is seen here.

• Some Kyrgyz units also wear a woodland variant pattern similar to that worn by Kazakhstan.

• Kyrgyz military personnel serving in peacekeeping roles with the UN have worn copies of the US tricolor desert pattern.

• In 2010, Kyrgyz military personnel were documented as wearing a US-style uniform in a variant of the Multicam camouflage pattern. This pattern has also been observed on personnel from the Interior Troops since at least 2023.

• A pixelated variation of the Russian-designed Skol pattern is also worn by Kyrgyz forces, and may be adopted as the standard uniform of the Armed Forces. This version has been in use since 2012.

• The Kyrgyz Armed Forces also issue a copy of German flecktarn made in China. While at first seemingly a literal copy of the German design, in fact the pattern has had at least three of the screen reversed, giving a different ratio of colors.

• Some use of commercially-designed tiger stripe patterns has been documented by Kyrgyz troops, the most likely origin being China.

• Like many former Soviet Republics, Kyrgyzstan is part of the Организация Договора о Коллективной Безопасности (CTSO or Collective Security Treaty Organization - a kind of modern-day Warsaw Pact), and as such contributes some military personnel to the Коллективные силы оперативного реагирования (KSOR, or Collective Rapid Reaction Force). This force uses its own distinctive pixelated desert camouflage design, which has been in use since around 2009.

Camouflage Patterns of the Ministry of the Interior Forces

• As with many former Soviet Republics, Kyrgyz Ministry of Interior troops have adopted the "shadow" or "blue reed" camouflage pattern for some of its personnel.

• Special Police units (OMON) and some regular police units of the Ministry of the Interior have worn various blue-dominant tiger stripe patterns since before 2010. Some of these variants have a more purple tone to them. Use of the blue tiger pattern has continued to the present day.

• Another camouflage pattern associated with the Ministry of the Interior is a blue-dominant DPM design, also having a number of variations. This design seems to be associated with anti-riot troops (although it may be worn by other units as well) and continues to be worn into the present era.

• Military sources have documented the use of the Russian-designed Skol pattern with the Armed Forces of this nation, most prominently with troops of the MVD. It is likely this is a copy made in Asia, rather than sourced directly from Russia. Use of this pattern has been documented since 2011.

• In 2016, it was first observed that units of the Kyrgyzstan MVD Internal Troops were wearing a digital camouflage almost identical to that of Kazakhstan and probably based on the same drawings. The only differences noted are a slight variation to the intensity of the green coloration, but this may simply be a reflection of fabric production coming from a different factory or part of the world.

• Special Operations units (SOBR) of the Ministry of the Interior have been documented wearing Chinese-made copies of USMC MARPAT since at least 2022. As with many MARPAT variations, different production cycles seem to produce slightly varied hues in the pattern.

• Most recently (circa 2020), the MVD began issuing blue-dominant pixelated camouflage designs to many of its personnel, including some special police units. At least two variations have been documented, one having a much lighter overall hue, and one much darker. There may be additional variations amongst these, as often happens with repeated production runs by different factories. It is not apparent whether specific units are issued the lighter and darker versions.