<Tr> <Th> Produced </Th> <Td> 2006--present </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Variants </Th> <Td> Airman Battle Shirt (ABS) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) is U.S. camouflage battledress uniform; it is a service - distinctive uniform as it is primarily used by the United States Air Force and its civilian auxiliary . It replaced the Battle Dress Uniform on 1 November 2011 after a four - year phase - in period . </P> <P> On 14 May 2018, The U.S. Air Force announced that all airmen will transition from the Airman Battle Uniform to the Army Combat Uniform Operation Camouflage Pattern (OCP), which the Air Force refers to as Operational Camouflage Pattern . All airmen will be allowed to wear OCP - patterned ACUs beginning on 1 October 2018, and the wear out date for the ABU is 1 April 2021 . </P>

When did the air force switch to abus