This month, soldiers will begin testing a camouflage pattern that looks more like reptile scales than terrain as part of the field-trial portion of the Army’s camouflage improvement effort.

The start of the field evaluation comes five months after Army uniform officials announced the finalists that had emerged from the service’s exhaustive Phase IV Camouflage Improvement effort. A handful of vendors were awarded contracts to make camouflage-patterned material for uniforms and equipment. Ultimately, the winner’s pattern could end up replacing the Army’s embattled Universal Camouflage Pattern, known as UCP, which was adopted in 2004.

Last fall, Army uniform officials completed tests that involved 900 soldiers taking a digital picture survey of camouflage patterns under consideration. The computerized survey had soldiers look at dozens of camouflage patterns and then rate their concealment performance.

Four commercial patterns emerged. One of the companies chosen is Crye Precision LLC of Brooklyn, N.Y. Crye invented MultiCam, a camouflage pattern that the Army chose in early 2010 to replace UCP in Afghanistan. ADS, Inc., teamed with Hyperstealth, Inc., of Virginia Beach, Va., and Brookwood Companies, Inc of New York, N.Y., were also chosen.

Photo by Military.com