I'm sure many of you are eagerly awaiting the lowdown from this week's industry day for the Army Phase IV camo program. Well, the good news is that Kit Up! will be attending the event and though we're restricted on our ability to post from the venue, we'll get as much gouge up on the site as we can when technology (and security) permits.
But as a preview for the gaggle of potential camo-makers who may or may not be there, a Kit Up! reader tipped me off to an Australian company who's interested in playing in the updated Army camo game.
Called Roggenwolf, the three patterns being proposed for the Army camo program are an interesting blend of a more curvy version of MultiCam style. The "Jinn" desert pattern, "Ettin" transitional and "Woodwose" woodland/jungle pattern are digital, but highly fractile and soft.
Developers of military camouflage have always sought to design a single pattern that can work well under a wide range of environmental conditions. Roggenwolf Warg just might be a good solution to the problem.Many animals utilise natural camouflage to blend with the colours of their surroundings. One example that comes readily to mind is the chameleon, which is able to change the colours of its skin. However, chameleons constitute only one highly-specialised clade of lizards. Many more animal species survive by utilising cryptic colourations based upon brown. It was with this observation in mind that work began, in November 2008, to develop 'universal' palettes based upon the browns so often seen in nature.
For Australian army infantryman Brad Turner made his first Roggenwolf camo proposal back in 2007. He collaborated with the folks from Hyperstealth who we mentioned in the Gore Optifade post (a company that's played a founding role in digital camo theory).
We'll see if Turner steps up to the plate in Thursday, and his camo is certainly impressive. Be sure to go through his site and check out the photosimulation tests and the "camo theory" page...some good background as we begin to walk more quickly down this new camo road.
