Multi-Terrain Pattern

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Camouflage pattern of the British Armed Forces

title: "Multi-Terrain Pattern" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["military-uniforms", "camouflage-patterns", "british-military-uniforms", "military-equipment-introduced-in-the-2010s"] description: "Camouflage pattern of the British Armed Forces" topic_path: "history/military" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-Terrain_Pattern" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Camouflage pattern of the British Armed Forces ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military gear"]

FieldValue
nameMulti-Terrain Pattern
imageBritish Armed Forces Multi Terrain Pattern camouflage.jpg
image_size300px
captionMulti-Terrain Pattern fabric
originUnited Kingdom
typeMilitary camouflage pattern
serviceMarch 2010 – present
used_bySee Users
warsWar in Afghanistan
Iraq War
Russo-Ukrainian War
designerDefence Science and Technology Laboratory
design_date2002
production_date2010–present
::

| name = Multi-Terrain Pattern | image = British Armed Forces Multi Terrain Pattern camouflage.jpg | image_size = 300px | alt = | caption = Multi-Terrain Pattern fabric | origin = United Kingdom | type = Military camouflage pattern | service = March 2010 – present | used_by = See Users | wars = War in Afghanistan Iraq War Russo-Ukrainian War | designer = Defence Science and Technology Laboratory | design_date = 2002 | manufacturer = | production_date = 2010–present | number = | variants = | spec_label = | weight = | length = | width = | height = | diameter =

The Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) is the standard camouflage pattern of the British Armed Forces. It is a modified version of Crye’s Multicam pattern using the same colour palette but with shapes that resemble the UK’s previous DPM pattern.

As part of the British Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Personal Equipment and Common Operational Clothing (PECOC) programme, three new camouflage patterns were considered for issue to British forces. These were a revised temperate Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM) using lighter colours, a new three-colour desert pattern with enhanced utility for night-time operations, and a hybrid four colour scheme using two colours from each of the previous patterns for use on webbing in all terrains.

History

Following an Urgent Operational Requirement for a camouflage uniform for the Afghan theatre of operations, and the success of a commercially available pattern (Crye's MultiCam) when tested in trials, a decision was made to use MultiCam as the basis of a new Multi-Terrain Pattern for British armed forces, replacing the previous temperate DPM uniforms. Desert DPM uniforms were to be retained but later entirely replaced alongside Woodland DPM.

The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence announced that HM Forces would be issued with the new British Army uniform for operations in Afghanistan with personnel serving under the 4th Mechanised Brigade; initially issued to personnel deployed on Operation Herrick from March 2010, then issued more widely to HM Forces from 2011 onward replacing all DPM including Woodland and Desert variants of the Combat Soldier 95 uniform by 2013 along with the introduction of the new Personal Clothing System.

Development

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/40_Commando_irrigation_ditch.jpg" caption="MTP in the Afghanistan environment"] ::

The MTP camouflage design was intended to perform consistently across a wide range of environments encountered, particularly for operations that the military had been deployed in during 2009. Initial concept was made with the environment of Helmand Province in mind.

British Troops in Afghanistan operate in a mixed landscape, including desert, woodland, mountains and urban. The development team at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory tested various camouflage variations against the standard army disruptive pattern material and the desert DPM to determine the best balance of colours. The current HM Armed Forces camouflage were then tested alongside off-the-shelf multi-terrain camouflage. The tests were against terrain that soldiers are likely to encounter across the landscape in Afghanistan.

A wide range of camouflage colours were tried in Britain, Cyprus, Kenya and Afghanistan. Camouflage patterns were compared with in-service and commercially available patterns—including those from Crye Precision in the United States. The trials included visual comparisons, objective assessments of the time to detect the different camouflage patterns against different backgrounds, and subjective user opinions on the efficacy of the performance.

Crye's "Multicam" pattern was determined to be the best performing, across the widest range of environments (by a significant margin) and was subsequently selected as the basis for the new British MTP camouflage, but modified with shapes that were closer to those of the existing British DPM pattern. Crye designed the new pattern for the UK's MOD, with the MOD holding the licence to print the pattern. The MTP pattern itself was not tried against other patterns and its adoption was based solely on its similarity to the original Crye Multicam pattern.

In 2019, a variant of the MTP camouflage pattern was selected by the New Zealand Defence Force to replace the current issue MCU service uniform across all services by 2023. Designated NZMTP, the new camouflage has a modified colour palette better suited to New Zealand's landscape.

The UK's Royal Marines announced in June 2020 that they would be procuring new uniforms specifically for the Marines, taking them away from the standard PCS uniforms of the UK forces. Also announced was that the camouflage pattern would be in Crye's Multicam, not the UK's MTP. The uniform is the off-the-shelf G4 system not sold in MTP as Crye had sold the sole production rights for MTP to the UK.

Users

References

References

  1. "Personal Equipment".
  2. (2009-12-20). "British troops to get first new camouflage in 40 years". CNN.
  3. (8 February 2011). "Introduction of Personal Clothing System - Soldier Systems Daily".
  4. Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. (2009-12-20). "Testing the new Multi-Terrain Camouflage". Ministry of Defence.
  5. (2009-12-21). "New Afghanistan camouflage design unveiled". MoD Defence News Online.
  6. Emery, Daniel. (2009-12-20). "British Army to get new camouflage uniform". BBC News Online.
  7. Copping, Jasper. (2009-12-20). "British Army to get new uniforms – turned down by the US and made in China". The Daily Telegraph.
  8. (June 2019). "Army". Army News.
  9. . (27 June 2020). ["New commando uniform for Royal Marines"](https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2020/june/27/200626-royal-marines-new-uniform). *Royal Navy*.
  10. . (26 June 2020). ["Royal Marines Commandos Go MultiCam"](https://www.joint-forces.com/features/kit-camo/33675-royal-marines-commandos-go-multicam). *Joint Forces News*.
  11. (30 October 2019). "Bahrain Defence Force ~ Camo Special".
  12. (February 2023). "DRTV - Frømandskorpset}}{{failed verification".
  13. (1 August 2014). "New Combat Uniform for Armed Forces of Malta. - Combat & Survival".
  14. (February 2023). "Press Release No 123/2022 - COAS visited Miranshah - 23 Dec 2022 {{!}} ISPR".
  15. "Information request for Ministry of Defence".
  16. "Regiment adopts new UK uniform {{!}} Bermuda News".
  17. (February 2023). "Junior Leaders}}{{failed verification".
  18. (February 2023). "Cayman Islands Regiment}}{{failed verification".
  19. (February 2023). "Cayman Islands Cadet Corps".
  20. Joshua Saunders. (18 June 2014). "For Queen and Country - The Falkland Islands Defence Force (FITV)".
  21. (5 October 2019). "Ukrainian M14 Digital Pattern".

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