Norwegian M23 Norsk Skog Camouflage
The M23 Norsk Skog (“Norwegian Forest”) is the Norwegian Armed Forces’ modern woodland camouflage pattern introduced as part of the M23 Nordic Combat Uniform (NCU). It represents a major shift from Norway’s long-established M/98 camouflage toward a pattern developed through scientific observation, computer generation, field testing, and adaptation to the distinctive landscapes of Norway.
Design
Norsk Skog has a predominantly olive-green, dark green, brown, and near-black palette. Its visual structure combines relatively large irregular areas with smaller dark flecks and fragmented shapes. The result is neither a traditional large-scale disruptive pattern nor a conventional Flecktarn-style design, but a hybrid approach intended to break up the recognizable human silhouette at different distances.
The colors were selected from observations of Norwegian vegetation and natural terrain. Researchers from the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) collected colors and shapes from Norwegian landscapes and used computer-generated variations to develop candidate patterns. The final Norsk Skog design was completed as early as 2016, before years of testing and evaluation led to its adoption.
One of its distinctive characteristics is the combination of large camouflage masses with smaller, darker fragmented elements. This produces visual disruption both at closer ranges and when viewed from farther away. Contemporary descriptions of the pattern note its mixture of disruptive and fleck-like characteristics.
The story of Norsk Skog began around 2012, when FFI was tasked with investigating whether Norway could improve upon its existing camouflage. Rather than simply designing a visually attractive replacement, researchers approached camouflage as an engineering and scientific problem.
They gathered photographic and color information from Norwegian environments and generated numerous pattern and color combinations digitally. These candidates were then subjected to field testing, including tests in which soldiers attempted to detect camouflaged targets positioned in natural Norwegian terrain.
The research was conducted in cooperation with the Norwegian Army's training and weapons-school organizations. Testing demonstrated that Norsk Skog was particularly difficult to detect, outperforming the other patterns evaluated in the program. The researchers emphasized that even a highly effective camouflage cannot make a soldier literally invisible: equipment, helmets, weapons, and human body shapes still have to be managed to avoid detection.
The pattern was publicly presented alongside the new Norwegian uniform system in 2023, and the first M23 uniforms began being issued to Norwegian personnel in January 2025, beginning in Finnmark in northern Norway.
M23 and the Nordic Combat Uniform
Norsk Skog is particularly significant because it is part of the Nordic Combat Uniform System, a joint Nordic project involving Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. The four countries share the basic uniform architecture while retaining their own national camouflage patterns.
The M23 system is much more than a combat shirt and trousers. It is a complete layering system, incorporating base layers, insulation, combat clothing, rain protection, and winter camouflage. The system was designed around Nordic climatic conditions and improved protection, comfort, sizing, and functionality.
Norway also developed separate M23 camouflage configurations for winter conditions and international/foreign operations, making the system considerably more versatile than a single-pattern uniform.
Legacy
The importance of Norsk Skog lies in the philosophy behind it as much as in its appearance. Earlier Norwegian camouflage reflected the traditional approach of selecting effective colors and disruptive shapes. M23 takes that concept into the data-driven era of camouflage development.
It is also a continuation rather than a complete rejection of Norwegian camouflage heritage. Researchers used the previous Norwegian pattern as a starting point while testing new combinations of colors, shapes, and scales. After roughly 35 years without a major new Norwegian camouflage pattern, Norsk Skog became a significant modernization of Norwegian military visual concealment.
Its development also illustrates an increasingly important principle in modern camouflage: the best-looking pattern is not necessarily the most effective one. Norsk Skog was selected because testing indicated that it reduced detection, not simply because it looked distinctive.
Summary
M23 Norsk Skog is essentially the modern Norwegian interpretation of scientific military camouflage. Its olive, green, brown, and dark elements imitate and disrupt the visual structure of Norwegian woodland and vegetation while its mixture of large shapes and smaller flecks helps break up the human form.
Introduced with the M23 Nordic Combat Uniform, it combines Norwegian environmental adaptation, computer-generated pattern development, extensive field testing, and Nordic uniform standardization. Its introduction in 2025 marked an important modernization of Norway's combat clothing and established Norsk Skog as one of the defining camouflage patterns of the contemporary Norwegian Armed Forces.
In camouflage history, M23 Norsk Skog stands out as a transition from traditional pattern design toward scientifically optimized, environment-specific camouflage—while still retaining the recognizable Norwegian woodland color identity.
