Type 07
Type 07 is a group of military uniforms used by all branches of the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China. Introduced in 2007, the Type 07 uniforms replaced the Type 87 service uniforms used by regular units and the Type 97 Service Dress uniforms of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison and the People's Liberation Army Macau Garrison. The Type 07 uniforms were first seen in late June 2007 during a celebration ceremony for the 10th anniversary of the Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong.
The design of the Type 07 uniform, especially that of the dress uniform, borrowed from older designs. The older designs, in turn, were influenced by those of the Soviet Union. The Type 07 design has striped cuff insignia which indicate years of service. The stripe cuff insignia are worn by all commissioned officers except for naval admirals and officers who use sleeve insignia on their dress blues.
It is being replaced by the Xingkong.
Service uniforms
Army Uniforms
In 2007, the Type 07 uniforms were adopted by the People's Liberation Army Ground Force and other unbranched units. They replaced the Type 87 uniform and the Type 97 uniforms used by the garrison troops in Hong Kong and Macau. The Type 07 uniform made its debut in late June, 2007 at a ceremony to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China.Since the mid 1980s, the army's uniforms had been olive green. The Type 07 uniforms, in contrast, were pine green. They were made with better quality fabric and were cut in a more stylish yet professional pattern. The insignias of all Ranks of the People's Liberation Army were placed on green backgrounds. The old standing-collar winter service uniform was abandoned in favour of an open-collar design. For the first time, the Type 07 uniform included a dress uniform to be worn by officers at ceremonial events.
Navy Uniforms
The Type 07 naval uniforms replaced the Type 87 and Type 97 naval uniforms. The Type 07 naval uniform adopted white and navy blue as its basic colours. The uniform used better quality material and cutting. for the first time, the officers were to receive dress uniform. The officers were also to receive two service uniforms, an all-white single-breasted design with the traditional shoulder rank insignia for summer wear and a double-breasted navy blue design with cuff insignia for winter wear.Air Force Uniforms
The Type 07 Air Force uniform replaced the Type 05 Air Force Service uniform of the regular airmen and the Type 97 Air Force Service uniform of the PLA garrison troops in Hong Kong and Macau. The new Type 07 Air Force uniform inherited the "Air Force Blue" color of the Type 05 Air Force Service uniform but was made with a better line and better quality material. All rank insignias were placed on blue backgrounds. The old standing-collar winter service uniform was abandoned in favor of an open-collar design. The new uniforms also included for the first time a dress uniform to be worn by officers at ceremonial events.Rocket Forces Uniforms
The Second Artillery Corps promoted as People's Liberation Army Rocket Force in December 2015. the new uniforms had been adopted in 2016 summer. The new Rocket Forces uniform use the "Black Green" color, with Khaki shirt, instead of old army uniforms.Combat uniforms and armor
Uniforms
In 2007, the PLA introduced the Type 07 combat and training uniforms such as the US BDU-style. They replaced the Type 87 combat and training uniforms which dated to the 1980s. The uniform includes a winter style made of heavy-weighted cotton fabric material and a summer style made of polyester and cotton twill fabric. Both styles include a coat, trousers, a soft cap and black leather boots.The summer uniform has a coat, with cuffed sleeves, a soft turndown collar, two breast pockets, two hip pockets, and an arm pocket on the left sleeve. Trousers have two hip pockets and two cargo pockets on legs. A pair of cloth rank insignia with velcro is worn on the collars. The service branch cloth badge is worn above the right chest pocket. The unit shield badge is carried on the right sleeve pocket. During a multi-national event, a cloth nametag with both simplified Chinese and English text is worn above the left chest pocket and the PRC flag color patch may be worn above the left sleeve pocket. However, the navy special operations unit wears the PLA naval ensign flag color patch on their combat uniform. Enlisted and junior commanding personnel also receive a set of wicking T-shirt and shorts for physical fitness training in summer. Physical fitness training isn't required for senior officers.
The winter uniform is made of thicker heavy-weighted cotton material with front zipper flap. The outer jacket with a fur-collar has an inner lining of quilted polyester padding and a detachable hood for warmth. A fur cap with earflaps and gloves are also available for extreme cold operations.
The Type 07 combat and training uniform was made in four basic camouflage patterns, each in a four-color scheme. These were a universal pattern ; a desert pattern ; a woodland pattern ; and an ocean pattern.
- "Universal" : green, brown and black on a grey background. This pattern was designed semi-urban terrain. It was the standard pattern for the PLA army and airforce.
- "Desert" : light khaki, dark brown and black on a tan background. The pattern was designed for desert or arid terrain but was used in the winter of north China.
- "Woodland" : light yellow, medium brown and black on an olive green background. The woodland pattern was designed for use in dense bush terrain or jungle. It was used by the PLA Rocket Forces then superseded.
- "Ocean" : light blue, green and light khaki on a medium blue background. The ocean pattern was used in limited quantities in for instance the marine corps. now this camouflage is used by all naval vessel crew.
- "Navy blue": was the plain dark blue colour used by all naval vessel crew, has been abandoned now.
- "Special force camo" : also called the "hunter digital camo". It is a pixelated design of the Type 04 special forces DPM camouflage used since 2010 by reconnoitre units and special forces. It was first used by the 38th Group Army special operations unit.
- "Urban" :, dark green, light grey, and bluish grey on a slate-gray background. The pattern was first used by the air force in November 2011.
- "Airborne Camouflage" was used by the PLAAF 15th Airborne Corps formation at the 60th National Day. The pattern was sky blue, green, greyish green and light greyish blue, has been abandoned now.
- "Second Artillery Corps Camouflage" was a variant of the Type 07 woodland pattern which used reddish brown instead of dark brown, has been abandoned now.
Body armor