Universal Camouflage Pattern

The Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) is a <a href="/facts/Multi-scale_camouflage/NramVnVk">digital camouflage</a> pattern formerly used by the <a href="/facts/United_States_Army/WACWBEK9">United States Army</a> in their <a href="/facts/Army_Combat_Uniform/ret4UDf9">Army Combat Uniform</a>.
Laboratory and field tests from 2002 to 2004 showed a pattern named "All-Over Brush" to provide the best concealment of the patterns tested. At the end of the trials, Desert Brush was selected as the winner over 12 other experimental patterns. The winning Desert Brush pattern was not used as the final Universal pattern. Instead, U.S. Army leadership utilized pixelated patterns of Canadian <a href="/facts/CADPAT/IEYp50rV">CADPAT</a> and U.S. Marine Corps <a href="/facts/MARPAT/2F77nryD">MARPAT</a>, then recolored them based on three universal colors developed in the Army's 2002 to 2004 tests, to be called UCP with significantly less disruptive capability than either of its prior familial patterns. The final UCP was then adopted without field testing against other patterns.
Soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan questioned the UCP's effectiveness as a concealment method. Some felt that it was endangering their missions and their lives. In response, the U.S. Army conducted several studies to find a modification or replacement for the standard issue pattern. In July 2014, the Army announced that <a href="/facts/Operational_Camouflage_Pattern/3VI7zGUd">Operational Camouflage Pattern</a> would replace all UCP-patterned ACU uniforms by the end of September 2019. However, UCP remains in service in limited capacities, such as on some cold weather overgear and older body armor.

Universal Camouflage Pattern open-in-new

Universal Camouflage Pattern