CAN you spot the soldiers in the photograph?

There are two in the picture - both wearing the new fatigues. (Hint: Look at the centre and top right corner of the photo.)

Indeed, it is quite hard to discern these soldiers wearing the new Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) uniforms.

That is precisely one key aim of the uniform's redesign - to avoid enemy detection and, thus, to enhance the soldier's survivability and sustainability while in combat.

This will help him "achieve greater overall mission success", the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in introducing the new uniform yesterday.

This redesign is the biggest revamp of its kind in 25 years.

The new No. 4 - as the SAF fatigues are better-known as - which replaces the current uniform introduced in 1983 (see below), will adopt new technology that uses smaller pixels of colours to create a complex pattern. It looks much like what United States Marines don.

The SAF developed this pixelated pattern with the Defence Science and Technology Agency. Research development started early last year.

Extensive research and field trials were done. The trials involved testing the uniform with "different terrain and distances in both day and night conditions", and they showed that the new camouflage pattern was significantly more effective than the current one.

Of the new technology, Mindef said: "Pixels were used to break up boundary lines and to generate a quivering effect. This affects the ability of the eye to see solid lines and the brain to detect recognisable shapes, resulting in a slower detection rate of the pixelated camouflage pattern at short distances."

Viewed from afar, the pixelated camouflage works like the traditional camouflage.

To counter detection by night-vision devices, the material used in the new fatigues was treated with Near Infra-red (NIR) technology to ensure that every colour in the camouflage pattern reflected a different wavelength.

Aside from such high-tech features, many army regulars and national servicemen look forward to the uniform's other pluses - a fabric that soaks up perspiration and dries faster, and its ergonomic design.

Said NSman Bryan Lee: "When we first put on the new uniform, the first thing we noticed was that it's lighter than our current one. That's our concern as we sweat a lot.

"With this new uniform, the perspiration evaporates faster, so it helps us to cool down and stay dry."

The new uniform also has an upturned collar - much like the Mandarin-style collar in fashion-speak - to prevent abrasions caused by rifle slings.

It also has additional features: The shirt of the uniform can be folded up as an improvised triangular bandage; inward buttoning of sleeves prevents entanglement with objects; and integrated body armour protects against 9mm pistol rounds and 7.62mm general-purpose machine-gun rounds from as near as 15m.

Mr Lee said: "The new look will take some getting used to, but the benefits it brings are what really matters."

The new uniform will be phased in over three years, starting from January next year. There are currently about 300,000 active and full-time NSmen.

estheray@sph.com.sg