STRIKE-HOLD - the international military and tactical blog

DPM out after 40 years – UK adopts new”Multi-Terrain Pattern”camouflage

As we’ve seen, the US Army is still in the midst of testing and analysing how to improve their soldiers’ camouflage uniform for use in Afghanistan – and beyond.  Meanwhile, it appears that the British have got on with the job and sorted out their own future camouflage requirements- with the help...

UK DPM line launched by BE-X

Posted on 14/12/2009 by Strikehold The Begadi-Exclusive (BE-X) line has gone all disruptive this month with the introduction of a full line-up of UK DPM camo clothing and equipment.Quick rundown of the facts: Actual UK-MoD specification Temperate DPM pattern Printed by a genuine MoD sub-contractor Clothing made from lightweight 65/35 cotton-polyester...

TWO airsoft PPsh-41 replicas announced

Like London buses, you wait ages for one to come – and then you get two at once!  WWII-themed airsofters will be changing their underpants after this – suddenly there are two really top-notch looking PPsh-41 replicas hitting the market.  Oh, and apparently there is also a “Chinasoft” version in...

Mirage Camo: up-close and in-the-field

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Strike-Hold Until now, details about Bulldog Equipment’s mysterious “Mirage” camouflage pattern and its associated combat uniform was unavailable to anyone outside of the US military.  In fact you have to have a US military “.mil” or US government “.gov” email address to even gain...

19th Century Anglo-Afghan Wars – a history lesson for today?

Posted on 20/11/2009 by Strike-Hold With the US / NATO mission in Afghanistan being very much at the forefront of US military strategy deliberations, and trans-Atlantic policy discussions, this new book from Osprey Publishing couldn’t be more timely.  And of course, with all rubbish that gets talked by people who...

New Afghan National Army camouflage uniform revealed

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Strike-Hold Proof positive that nothing remains secret for very long these days…A couple of photos were posted by “eluphant21″ in the “Digital Patterns” thread on MilitaryPhotos.net today, showing the new camouflage combat uniform of the Afghan National Army.The uniform they’ve chosen (allegedly at the...

Merlins arrive in Afghanistan

The first RAF Merlin helicopter has arrived in Afghanistan as part of a move to boost air support on the front line. The full Merlin deployment to Afghanistan will be completed by the end of this year, providing a significant increase in UK military helicopters and flying hours available to commanders...

More Russian Camouflage – Modox”Skol”

Although the US Army’s camouflage controversy is getting a lot of attention, discussion and development, the Americans aren’t the only ones who’ve been busy developing new camouflage patterns over the past few years.Besides the famous “Partizan” suits seen during the Beslan hostage crisis, or the copy of the “Yeger” pattern...

Licensed A&K Sportsline Masada hits the shops

Last month we featured the news about Magpul PTS officially licensing A&K to produce a Sportsline airsoft version of the “Masada” (as opposed to their previous, unlicensed version). Well, more detailed photographs of this model have appeared – see below.     The licensed A&K Sportsline Masada AEGs are currently available from ehobby Asia and Airsoft Global, and...

Terrain/Environment Specific Camouflage Made Easy

All the recent chatter around the US Army camo controversy got me to thinking of a couple of different approaches.  I already laid out my intial thoughts on a common ground combat uniform – and seperate garrison uniform – a few weeks back. An alternative, and perhaps more cost-effective, approach is...