China

Camouflage Patterns of the Chinese Armed Forces

• Sources indicate the first style camouflage introduced for the PLA (People's Liberation Army) was a four-color disruptive design having black, mid-brown and moss green disruptive shapes on pale green background. Coloration and shapes suggest this may have been a crude attempt at copying the British Army DPM camouflage pattern, possibly from photographs. This pattern dates to the mid-1970s, and would have been limited to use by sappers, commandos and airborne troops.

• The first style Type 81 reversible camouflage uniform was printed on one side with a DPM like design, and on the opposite with a duck hunter camouflage pattern. Introduced in the mid- to -late 1970s, the uniforms would have seen service into the 1980s, including the Sino-Vietnamese War.

• The second Type 81 reversible uniform features a slightly different disruptive pattern printed on one side, with a color variation of the duck hunter pattern on the reverse side. This pattern was also used during the Sino-Vietnamese War.

• The third Type 81 reversible uniform has a sparse three color irregular spot pattern camouflage on one side, and the same duck hunter camouflage pattern as the second type on the reverse side.

• Type 91 winter pattern

• Type 99 woodland pattern

• Type 03 woodland pattern. A rip-stop version of the Type 99 Woodland pattern.

• Type 99 Air Force Paratroops four-colour urban pattern. Used 1999-2005.

• Type 99 People's Liberation Navy four-colour Oceanic pattern. Used 1999-2005.

• PLA "Flecktarn" pattern used for Physical Training (PT) shirts etc. Used since 2001.

• Type 03 PLA Tibet Region pattern - Tibet Flecktarn. A brown version of the German Flecktarn pattern. Used since 2003.

• Type 04 Special Forces DPM pattern.

• Type 07 general issue digital pattern. Introduced 2007.

• The arid version of the Type 07 digital pattern. Introduced 2007.

• The ocean version of the Type 07 digital pattern. Used by the Chinese Navy.

• The tropical version of the Type 07 digital pattern.

Armed Police

• Armed Police 1st pattern. Used during the 1980s.

• Type 87 Armed Police bright orange pattern - used by Forest Fighting Units. Used since 2005.

• Type 05 digitized pattern - in use since 2005

• Type 07 digitized pattern - in use since 2007