Combat identification

Combat identification is the means of military communications by which units distinguish own and allied forces from enemy in combat and reduce the risk of friendly fire. It includes military uniform markings, vehicle markings, etc. One of the common methods is transponder-based identification friend or foe.

United Kingdom
The British military uses tactical recognition flashes on the uniform sleeves. The 1998 Strategic Defence Review and the NATO Defence Capabilities Initiative, initiated at the 1999 Washington summit of NATO, provided the UK Ministry of Defence with the framework for a modern combat identification strategy. In July 2001, the Ministry of Defence approved a policy paper on combat identification and associated action plan.

United States
The United States Armed Forces use various identification devices, such as combat identification panel, combat service identification badge, etc.

Ukraine
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian ground forces started to use reflective yellow armbands, similar to yellow reflective belts used in the U.S. Army. Later they switched the armband color to blue (the other color of the Ukrainian flag) to prevent Russians from infiltrating their ranks.

The red color was chosen by Russian forces during the invasion and the Ukrainian Interior Ministry urged citizens to pay special attention to people with red on their clothing and report such people to the police.