Foreword to PAP Infantry Equipment and Gear
In 1982 it became apparent that the People’s Liberation Army, organizationally was not suited to all the roles that it was responsible for, including internal security, counter-terrorism and even firefighting. Thus, many units of the PLA were transferred to the newly founded organization, the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force (CAPF/PAP for short).
The PAP is a Gendarmerie force whose sole mission is internal security but also has units dedicated to firefighting, forest policing and many more missions.
In the post-9/11 world, the focus for many countries turned to counter-terrorism and thus the PAP undertook the responsibility to create elite special forces units responsible for operations within the territory of the People’s Republic of China.
As individual provinces of China have certain levels of control over their local PAP units, different units in different areas will receive more or less funding than others. Attempts to standardize equipment across all regions of China are well underway, and have succeeded in equipping all PAP troops with digital camouflage uniforms, distinct from those of the PLA.
PAP CAMOUFLAGE
Type 13 Special Forces Pattern 13式特战迷彩
Commonly know as “tigerstipe pattern”, this was the standard camouflage for all PAP Special Forces since 2012 and was used on both summer and winter uniforms before the introduction of a winter variant.
PAP Combat Gear
Type 16 Special Forces Pattern 16式特战迷彩
Also known as “winter tigerstripe pattern”, this is a variant of the Type 13 that is more suitable for arid climates.
W15 Helmet
Type 13 Vest
Type 15 Body Armor
PAP Individual Integrated Combat Support System - Type 15
PAP Personal Kit
Type 13 Special Forces Summer Uniform
The uniform consists of a combat shirt and pants set, the combat shirt torso is made of a lightweight sweat-wicking material, while the rest of the uniform is made of a light weight cotton fabric. Like the winter suit, the summer suit pants features internal knee pads and is close-fitting. An improved version called Type 16 was introduced yet most units have not adopted them.
Type 16 Special Forces Winter Uniform
The winter uniform consists of a field shirt and pants set, and a fleece liner. The uniform is made of a heavier fabric than the summer version, it is close-fitting and features lots of elastication, padding on the knees and elbows. It has mostly replaced the original Type 13 winter uniform, which was deemed unsuitable for arid environments due to the summer tigerstripe fabric.
