The development of personal camouflage equipment for the fighter began with the khaki uniform, first used in the British army. With the development of science and military affairs, spots began to appear on the uniform, imitating forest or grass cover. One of the most recent forms of camouflage is pixel or digital camouflage.
The history of the appearance of pixel camouflage
Pixel camouflage was developed back in the 60s of the last century in the United States. Then it looked more like the domestic camouflage "birch", rather than modern samples of digital camouflage. However, during the operation of an experimental batch of these camouflage suits, the US military leadership recognized their ineffectiveness, and the project was postponed until the 90s.
In the USSR, work was also underway on digital camouflage. Back in 1944, an early version of the birch camouflage was developed. At that time, there was still no idea about pixel camouflage, but there were already certain ideas about camouflage. The result is a cross between standard and pixel camouflage. Unfortunately, due to the limited technological capabilities of the Soviet textile industry during the Great Patriotic War, this camouflage did not go into mass production, it was replaced by a less effective, but easier to manufacture "amoeba".
The birch camouflage was developed back in 1944. It bore the name M1944 and was used mainly by snipers and scouts. The "birch" we know had the name M1969 and appeared, respectively, in 1969.
In the 90s, work on pixel camouflage was resumed in the United States. Its development was carried out using computers that select the most optimal pixel arrangement. Following them, the development of this type of camouflage began in Russia, which in 2008 began to enter service with its army.
How pixel camouflage works
When you look at pixel camouflage, you get the impression that you are looking at an oversized photograph on a computer. It does not consist of straight lines, but of small squares-pixels of various colors dotted with military uniforms.
Unlike standard camouflage, which is designed to mask the entire body as a whole, pixel camouflage, as it were, "breaks" the body into several parts, each of which separately merges with the terrain. Due to this effect, the quality of camouflage of a soldier is significantly improved not only in a stationary position, but also in motion, when his silhouette is "blurred" into a blurred spot.
Pixel camouflage is not a panacea for all diseases. The wrong color will deprive you of all the advantages of the "pixel" at once. In our lane, the most effective camouflage is "flora", as it best merges with the forest.
However, the disadvantage of this seemingly super-effective camouflage is the need to accurately match its colors to the scene of hostilities. If a large spot of standard camouflage, when viewed from afar, has a chance to "integrate" into the surrounding area, then digital camouflage will be a strange blurry spot that stands out quite clearly against the surrounding background.
