During a military parade in a certain African country, the personnel were surprisingly wearing China's Type 07 desert camouflage uniforms?

Upon a closer look, the editor confirmed that while the soldiers in the picture were armed with domestically-made weapons (Note: Here "domestically-made" refers to weapons produced in the country where the soldiers are from; if specifically referring to "Chinese-made weapons" as implied by the context of "Chinese-style camouflage" mentioned earlier, it can be adjusted to "Chinese-made weapons") and dressed in full sets of Chinese-style camouflage uniforms-with even their faces covered-they were clearly not members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). Instead, they looked more like troops from an African or Middle Eastern country. Some military bloggers claimed these were soldiers from Iraq or Djibouti, but the editor did not agree. It was only after careful verification that the editor confirmed these were soldiers of the Malian military during Mali's National Day military parade last September.

▲ During Mali's military parade, the military uniforms worn by the troops were surprisingly diverse. There was even a contingent armed with China's CS/LS2 submachine guns.

It's no secret to military enthusiasts that foreign armed forces use Chinese weapons-this is something they've long grown accustomed to. However, in the common perception, few countries' militaries seem to wear the same camouflage uniforms as the Chinese military. But in reality, the Type 07 camouflage uniforms equipped by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) have long been adopted and used by many countries around the world.

Since the Starry Sky Camouflage made its first public appearance during the National Day military parade in 2019, the Type 07 Camouflage has gradually faded from the sight of military enthusiasts.

▲ When the editor was a child, the Type 07 Camouflage was quite an advanced piece of equipment at that time.

As the first digital camouflage developed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the early 21st century to keep pace with global trends, the Type 07 Camouflage served in the PLA for more than a decade. From today's perspective, this relatively old-fashioned digital camouflage does seem a bit outdated. However, in the eyes of the editor back then, the Type 07 Camouflage, paired with the brand-new collar-tab military ranks, completely shattered the traditional impression of the PLA as being "old-fashioned"-and it hardly looked any different from the uniforms of the U.S. military.

During its design phase, to meet the needs of different environments, the Type 07 Camouflage was developed in multiple versions, including five main types: woodland camouflage, jungle camouflage, desert camouflage, urban camouflage, and marine camouflage. However, due to the limitations of the era, the Type 07 Camouflage was not fully distributed based on actual combat needs and regional environments. Instead, it was issued according to the identification colors of different military services and arms. Back then, the Marine Corps wore striking marine camouflage uniforms regardless of whether they were in deserts or forests-a fact that drew a lot of criticism from military enthusiasts.

▲ The Type 07 marine camouflage used by the Marine Corps was jokingly called "blue elves" by netizens.

In the early 21st century, digital camouflage was once regarded as an advanced technology, and its camouflage effect was believed to be far superior to that of traditional camouflage. However, in reality, it didn't take long for the U.S. military-who were the first to be equipped with digital camouflage-to begin phasing out the UCP (Universal Camouflage Pattern) digital camouflage. Instead, they adopted a new type of multi-terrain universal camouflage: though its design was more traditional, it featured excellent camouflage performance.

▲ During the Iraq War, the U.S. military wore digital camouflage.

However, supporters of digital camouflage remain widespread. For instance, the U.S. Marine Corps still uses the MARPAT digital camouflage to this day, and the Russian military's EMR is also a type of digital camouflage. In fact, the Type 19 and Type 21 Starry Sky Camouflage also retain the design concept of digital camouflage-with the only difference being that the digital pixel size has been minimized to the greatest extent, optimizing the camouflage effect.

In fact, some designs of the Type 07 Camouflage are still not outdated even today, and among them, the most popular one is presumably the Type 07 desert camouflage.

As the first large-scale fielded desert camouflage of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Type 07 desert camouflage was primarily designed for the desert regions in northwest China, the plateau areas in western China, and the winter environments in northern China. It adopts a color scheme of khaki, dark brown, and black patches, which enables it to adapt to multiple combat environments such as deserts, plateaus, autumn-winter jungles, and urban areas, and boasts quite good camouflage effectiveness.

▲ In terms of color, the Type 07 desert camouflage is much darker than the U.S. military's desert camouflage.

To adapt to different combat environments, even for camouflages with similar positioning, the needs of different countries can be vastly different. For example, during the Gulf War, the U.S. military discovered that the BDU six-color desert camouflage-designed based on U.S. desert terrain-was completely incompatible with Iraq's natural environment. As a result, it urgently developed a new type of camouflage tailored to actual combat needs.

▲ U.S. Military's Desert Camouflage Uniforms During the Gulf War

Due to the complex natural environment in China, with a wide variety of terrain and vegetation types, coupled with considerations for camouflage needs in autumn and winter, the Type 07 desert camouflage does not use large areas of white color blocks in its design. Instead, it takes dark brown and khaki as the main colors, complemented by black accents. This design concept is quite similar to the autumn-winter camouflage color scheme used by the German Waffen-SS during World War II, and is vastly different from the American-style desert camouflage.

 ▲ Before the Type 07 desert camouflage, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) had already been equipped with another type of camouflage-the Type 03 desert camouflage-which also adopted the design concept of German flecktarn camouflage.

▲ The Type 03 camouflage uniform delivers excellent camouflage effectiveness in desert areas.

Around 2011, as U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq, the newly established Iraqi government had to face various anti-government armed groups and terrorist organizations on its own. The Iraqi military was in urgent need of all kinds of weapons and equipment, including military uniforms. Almost at the same time, through unknown channels, the Type 07 desert camouflage began to appear in Iraq.

 ▲ Iraqi Soldiers Wearing Type 07 Desert Camouflage

From some clear images, most of the desert camouflage uniforms appearing in Iraq are not the same Type 07 camouflage uniforms used by the PLA. Instead, they are specially made to mimic the style of U.S. military uniforms. After all, the Type 07 desert camouflage field uniforms equipped by the PLA are all thick winter uniforms-wearing them in Iraq would presumably be unbearably hot. Obviously, these camouflage uniforms are custom-made by the Iraqi military from local manufacturers.

Soon after, the Type 07 desert camouflage began to be widely fielded by the Iraqi government forces. Due to Iraq's limited military budget, nearly only the most elite units could be outfitted with this brand-new Chinese-style camouflage. Furthermore, the Iraqi special forces also favored the Type 07 desert camouflage-what they customized were not ordinary field uniforms, but more stylish combat shirts (also known as "frog suits"), which were obviously much more comfortable in the hot desert.

▲ Custom-Made Type 07 Desert Camouflage Frog Suits for Iraqi Special Forces

In fact, judging from some photos, there seems to be a significant color difference between these Iraqi versions of the Type 07 desert camouflage and the ones used by the PLA-especially the khaki-colored parts, which are noticeably lighter and closer to a beige shade, bearing a resemblance to the style of American desert camouflage. Obviously, Iraq's natural environment differs greatly from that of northwestern China; its deserts have a much lighter color. It is highly likely that manufacturers specifically adjusted the color tone of the Type 07 desert camouflage to cater to this environmental characteristic, thereby meeting the needs of the Iraqi military.

▲ Senior Iraqi Officers in Type 07 Camouflage

Subsequently, this custom-made version of the Type 07 desert camouflage quickly spread across Middle Eastern and African countries, appearing on a large scale in nations such as Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, and Palestine. Beyond the most common desert camouflage, the Type 07 woodland camouflage has also made occasional appearances in these countries-it's just that we hadn't noticed it before.

▲ Armed Personnel of the Palestinian "Al-Quds Brigade" in Type 07 Woodland Camouflage

 ▲ Syrian Government Forces in Type 07 Desert Camouflage

▲ Chadian Government Forces in Type 07 Desert Camouflage – Note the U.S.-style cut of their uniforms

 ▲ Indonesian Special Forces in Type 07 Woodland Camouflage

In fact, while camouflage uniforms may seem simple, the design, craftsmanship, and manufacturing industry behind them are quite complex. The vast majority of countries lack the capability to complete this entire process. Even if some countries have the ability to design camouflage uniforms, they either do not have the industrial foundation for large-scale mass production or face exorbitant production costs. For this reason, domestic garment factories have long been often contracted to manufacture various types of military uniforms and individual field equipment for foreign militaries.

In the past, influenced by major military powers like the United States, the militaries of most third-world countries would equip themselves with camouflage uniforms that either resembled U.S. military ones in appearance or were direct copies of them. However, with the growth of China's military strength, its influence in third-world countries has also increased steadily. Most importantly, of course, domestically designed camouflage has become increasingly advanced and aligned with actual combat needs-many countries have thus begun to procure camouflage designed by China.

Therefore, the editor is not particularly surprised to see the Type 07 desert camouflage appear in Mali this time. Perhaps one day in the future, we will even see soldiers from foreign militaries wearing domestically produced Starry Sky Camouflage!