Airman Battle Uniform - ABU

The U.S. Air Force began fielding the Airman Battle Uniform in 2007 to replace the woodland camouflage Battle Dress Uniform worn by all U.S. services for decades.

The ABU has a distinctive tiger stripe pattern and features a pixilated look similar to the Army’s ACU. The new uniform has four pockets on the front of the shirt, and also a small pencil pocket on the left forearm and two pockets on the lower legs. In addition, inside the side pockets and inside of the breast pockets there are smaller sewn-in pockets to hold small tools, flashlights or cell phones.

The new uniform design is a pixilated tiger stripe with four soft earth tones consisting of tan, grey, green and blue. The ABU has a permanent crease and is offered in 50-50 nylon-cotton blend permanent press fabric eliminating the need for winter and summer weight uniforms.

Other accessories include:

Airmen are required to maintain one tan T-shirt with an Air Force logo on the front and Air Force written on the back.

Suede cowhide boots in matching green-gray color; like the desert boot these are polish-free and available in men’s and women’s sizes.

The word color for the name, U.S. Air Force, and rank is midnight blue; name tapes and rank insignia background are tan and are sewn on using a matching tan color thread.

The ABU adopts the battle dress uniform hat style for primary use and the floppy hat design is used in some deployed areas.