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CADPAT

 
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CADPAT



 
 
CAnadian Disruptive PATtern (CADPAT), is the digital camouflage pattern currently used by the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces." This singular institution consists of thre...
 (CF). It is the first digital pattern introduced for uniforms. It has similarities to German Army Flecktarn
Flecktarn

Flecktarn is a 3-, 4-, 5- or 6-colour disruptive camouflage pattern. The use of spots creates a "dithering" effect, which eliminates hard boundaries between the different colours in much the same way the squares in the newest Military camouflage#Digital camouflage patterns do....
 that may have inspired the development of CADPAT. The patent for CADPAT lists US Army research done by LTC Timothy R. O’Neill (U.S. Army, Retired) in the 1970s as an early inspiration for their digital pattern.






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CAnadian Disruptive PATtern (CADPAT), is the digital camouflage pattern currently used by the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces." This singular institution consists of thre...
 (CF). It is the first digital pattern introduced for uniforms. It has similarities to German Army Flecktarn
Flecktarn

Flecktarn is a 3-, 4-, 5- or 6-colour disruptive camouflage pattern. The use of spots creates a "dithering" effect, which eliminates hard boundaries between the different colours in much the same way the squares in the newest Military camouflage#Digital camouflage patterns do....
 that may have inspired the development of CADPAT. The patent for CADPAT lists US Army research done by LTC Timothy R. O’Neill (U.S. Army, Retired) in the 1970s as an early inspiration for their digital pattern. CADPAT went considerably beyond this initial research. CADPAT is a computer generated pattern incorporating sophisticated Near Infrared protection designed to conceal soldiers from image intensification devices (night vision).

The basic uniform consists of a wide brim combat hat, helmet cover, shirt, jacket, fragmentation vest, and trousers. The pattern was copyrighted upon its introduction.

Pattern variations

In development for the better part of a decade, the pattern comes in three varieties: Temperate Woodland (TW), Arid Region (AR), and Winter/Arctic (WA). The temperate woodland pattern became the standard issue for the Army
Canadian Forces Land Force Command

Land Force Command , often also called the Canada Army, is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces.The current size of Land Force Command is 19,500 regular soldiers and 16,000 reserve soldiers, for a total of around 35,500 soldiers....
 in 2002, with the Air Force
Canadian Forces Air Command

Canadian Forces Air Command , also known as the Canadian Air Force, is the air force element of the Canadian Forces. AIRCOM is the descendant of the Royal Canadian Air Force , which was Canada's air force from its foundation in 1924 until February 1, 1968....
 following suit in 2004.

Uniforms and equipment in CADPAT material replaced the olive green material in use since the early 1960s.

Some civilian firms are licensed to sell clothing and accessories using CADPAT material (though not the same IR-defeating type used by the CF) as long as the patterns do not match official CF uniform and equipment patterns. These are commercially available from a wide variety of sources.

Temperate woodland

CADPAT TW has four specific colours — light green, dark green, brown, and black — and was first introduced in 1997/98 on the helmet cover for the new helmet then coming into service. At the same time, the pattern was also introduced on a new Soldier's Individual Camouflage Net.

The CADPAT TW uniform allows Canadian soldiers protection from observation by the naked eye and night vision devices.

Arid regions

Concurrent with the trials of CADPAT TW, work was carried out to identify a uniform for operations in desert, near desert, and savannah environmental conditions. This three-colour pattern, known as CADPAT Arid Regions (AR), incorporates three different colours of brown. The CADPAT design for Arid Regions has been approved and the transfer of this digital technology is ongoing to the textiles industry, CADPAT AR also features to arm pockets other then the TW uniform.

In light of the deployment of the Immediate Reaction Force to Afghanistan, the CADPAT AR project was expedited with the intent that it would be issued to soldiers in summer 2002.

Arctic and urban

The Canadian Forces are working on an Arctic as well as an Urban pattern.

Boots

The Canadian Forces were working on a new combat boot made with the CADPAT pattern. There was some negative feedback from Canadian soldiers, and due to this, the Canadian Forces decided against the CADPAT print boots, and the newest issue General Purpose (GP) boots - similar to the outgoing Mark III boots, are black.

See also

  • Flecktarn
    Flecktarn

    Flecktarn is a 3-, 4-, 5- or 6-colour disruptive camouflage pattern. The use of spots creates a "dithering" effect, which eliminates hard boundaries between the different colours in much the same way the squares in the newest Military camouflage#Digital camouflage patterns do....
  • MARPAT
    MARPAT

    MARPAT is a pixelated camouflage pattern in use by the United States Marine Corps, introduced with the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform , which replaced the Battle Dress Uniform....
  • Universal Camouflage Pattern
    Universal Camouflage Pattern

    The Universal Camouflage Pattern , also known as ACUPAT and ARPAT is the military camouflage pattern currently in use on the United States Army's Army Combat Uniform....
  • Military camouflage
    Military camouflage

    Camouflage became an essential part of modern military tactics after the increase in accuracy and rate of fire of weapons during the 19th century....
  • List of camouflage patterns
    List of camouflage patterns

    Here is a comprehensive list of military camouflage patterns used in battledress.The list is ordered by continent and country of origin, with other users listed in a separate column....
  • Canadian Forces
    Canadian Forces

    The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces." This singular institution consists of thre...
  • Combat Dress
    Combat Dress

    Combat Dress was the name of the uniform worn by members of Land Force Command of the Canadian Forces from 1968 to 2002.The combat uniform was olive-drab colour pants and shirt replacing the old Battle Dress from the United Kingdom....


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