New M24 Greek Lizard Pattern ~ A Brief Glimpse

Mannequins clad in Greek M24 'New Lizard' pattern uniforms [© Bob Morrison]

The Greek Ministry of National Defence announced plans for a new ‘Lizard’ camouflage pattern in 2023 and limited issue commenced in late 2024, writes Bob Morrison.

It had been my hope to spot Greek soldiers wearing the M24 New Lizard Pattern uniforms during my visit to DEFEA in Athens back in May but, perhaps not unsurprisingly as this was an indoor event, almost all Hellenic Armed Forces personnel attending the expo were wearing service dress rather than camouflage uniform. However I did get a chance to see, and photograph, mannequins wearing the new camo on defence manufacturer ELMON’s stand.

Mannequins clad in Greek M24 ‘New Lizard’ pattern uniforms [© Bob Morrison]

Greek Lizard pattern camo, initially a derivative of the French Lizard (originally called Leopard) pattern first seen in Indo-China in the 1950s, has been in service for over five decades now though there have been minor design and colour differences over time. Incidentally, Greek Special Forces operators had converted to MultiCam over the last decade or so but when I photographed the uniform of one of their officers (with his permission) at Camp de Souge at the beginning of April 2025 he was wearing traditional Greek Lizard pattern though he mentioned that the new M24 pattern was on the way.

Identical ELMON medical pouches in Genuine MultiCam (Left) and M24 New Lizard camo patterns
[© Bob Morrison]

It is difficult to make too many observations on M24 as I did not manage to snap a large sample area of this pattern, primarily because the mannequins were sporting ELMON load carriage kit and pouches etc. over it. Additionally, there was no way of photographing the combat jacket back panels due to close proximity to the stand. The original Greek Lizard camo patterns are three-colour, with chocolate brown and bottle green printed over a tan base colour fabric, though by overlaying the applied colours a fourth shade is produced. While the new M24 design is still clearly closely related to original, it appears a little more sparse and both the green and brown shades are much lighter; overprinting still gives the effect of there being a fourth, quite muddy, shade.

An example of old Greek Lizard pattern photographed under similar internal lighting conditions at DEFEA 2025 [© Bob Morrison]

A couple of camo collector commentators, probably only working from photographs, have suggested the new M24 colourway might be an attempt to join the ‘MultiCam Revolution’, but I don’t see it. From the few photos of Greek troops wearing M24 garments in the fields I have perused to date, including Special Forces on Exercise HIGHLAND KUKRI 24 in Scotland and Arab Forces working alongside allies in an arid theatre, the new camo looks like is will work better as a multi-terrain pattern, but possibly only time will confirm this.

A Greek Special Forces officer wearing the original Greek Lizard Pattern photographed in natural light in France, April 2025 [© Bob Morrison]

Footnote: There was another Greek manufacturer displaying M24 New Lizard pattern uniforms and textiles at DEFEA 2025, but sales staff infuriatingly refused point blank to allow photography on their stand, even though I was wearing an official press pass for the event; ground rules for official media at most defence expos state that permission must be obtained from exhibitors before taking photos and to ensure we are allowed back we comply with this request.