New British Desert Vest.

Read and heard that the vest is supposed to be wear over the Osprey armor vest that the Brits currently wear both in Iraq and Afghanistan. Notice the IR Brit flag similar to American flag version. More greenish looking though since ours tend to be grayish.

Looks pretty cool and as if it would be well camoflagued in the desert.
I would be happy wearing that!

Still rubbish if you go prone. The current penchant for assault vests makes it extremely difficult to fire from the most stable firing position (prone), as well as crawl. Trust me, when the rounds go down you'll want to be on your belt buckle and crawling into cover/change positions. You'll want to be in a stable firing position to reduce the effect of the massive adrenaline surge you'll be feeling while you return fire. You'll want to present as small a target as possible. This all means prone. These assault vests also reduce the ability to reload quickly and effectively. Try doing this with an assault vest while on your belly.

The answer is smple. PLCE belt webbing. Carries more than an assault vest. Completely modular. Pouches easily accessable in all firing positions. Compatable with all forms of body armour. Comfortable to tab in (if fitted correctly). Can be stripped down to the bare basics for OIBUA.

Assault vests do have some advanatages however. They are useful in vehicles - try using belt kit in a WMIK. They are also hold pouches at the front of the body, making utility pouches quicker to access. However some may argue that this is fairly moot as the only pouches youll ever need that quickly are the ammo pouches, in which belt webbing still has the advantage.