Indian Army unveils new combat uniform

New Delhi, January 15

The Indian Army unveiled its new combat uniform at the parade on the occasion of Army Day on Saturday. The new combat uniform for Army personnel is aimed to provide more comfort and sustainability.

In a first, the Army Day parade witnessed the new uniform and weapons of different era. The troops will also march donning the same uniform during the Republic Day parade this year.

The new uniform is of digital pattern like the troops of the US Army. "The camouflage of the changed uniform is better than its previous one," said a senior Indian Army officer.

The Army has always objected over other paramilitary forces wearing combat dress of similar pattern. "Many a times we had flagged it," said the officer.

Interestingly, the new combat uniform does not have tuck-in dress and there will be a T-shirt inside. The pattern is a digital disruptive one and more like a pixelated design. The officer said that it has been designed keeping comfort levels in mind.

The new combat uniform has been designed in collaboration with the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). An eight-member team comprising students and professors worked the design of the new uniform.

The NIFT team went through four different fabrics, eight different designs and almost 15 patterns before locking it all down.

The new uniform has a mix of colours, which include olive green and earthen shades, keeping in mind the different terrains and areas of deployment of troops as well as the extreme weather conditions The new combat uniform has eliminated the need to have different uniforms for different terrains - earlier there were uniforms for jungle warfare, dessert warfare etc.

There were reports that the new pattern is based on LTTE uniform. The Indian Army has dismissed this comparison, stating that the uniform is "distinctively different'' from LTTE uniform.

--IANS