Belgian army to get new Multicam camouflaged combat uniforms

The Belgian army is abandoning its four-five-tone Woodland camouflage used for twenty years, Defence.be reports: it has officially adopted a new multi-colored Multicam combat dress which will enter service from late 2022, the Minister of Defense and the concerned manufacturers announced on April 1 in Brussels.
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Official presentation of the new Belgian combat uniform on April 1, 2022 (Picture source: Adrien Muylaert/BE Defense)

This new combat uniform is designed as “a system of operational outfits and accessories” – like ballistic armor, backpacks, helmets, etc. – said Mrs Ludivine Dedonder, the Minister of Defence, to the press, alongside the leaders of the main Belgian companies involved in this market.

The SSC consortium (Sioen, Seyntex, CryePrecision) was selected to supply the new "Belgian Defence Clothing System" (BDCS) to Defense following a procedure launched in October 2019. SSC will equip the military with these new multi-layered garments and operational accessories for a total budget of 410 million euros, under a contract awarded in March.

The Belgian companies Seyntex and Sioen have already cooperated on the file of the improved operational soldier system for the Dutch army. This time, they are extending their cooperation with the American company CryePrecision, which is already the preferred supplier of several special forces within NATO, including the Belgian special forces.

The operational clothing chosen by the Defense consists of several layers (multilayers) where all the pieces are complementary and integrated in such a way as to guarantee “optimal” and “appropriate” protection for male and female soldiers. This panoply includes different underwear, fatigues and additional protections, depending on the climatic conditions encountered in the different theaters of operations where Belgian units are likely to be engaged.

This new gear also introduces the new, more desert-toned Multicam camouflage pattern that CryePrecision owns the patent for.

The distribution of new outfits and accessories will begin in November 2022 and will extend over ten weeks, at the rate of 500 per day and per district, so as to equip 25,000 people during this period, explained one of the purchasing managers to the Defence, Colonel Geert Bouchez. The will of the Defense is to have a "short transition", he underlined.

The Special Forces Group was the first Belgian army unit to adopt the "Multicam" since Operation Valiant Phoenix in Iraq (Picture source: SF Gp)