The Russian Defense Ministry will start mass purchases of domestically designed “future soldier” gear in 2014, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
“A whole number of new equipment sets leaves behind the world equivalents,” Defense Ministry ground forces spokesman Lt. Col. Nikolai Donyushkin said.
Russian defence equipment sets “Ratnik”, nicknamed “future soldier uniforms”, performed well in recent tests, paving the way for their implementation, said the senior army official. “Ratnik” (“Warrior”) comprises more than 40 components, including firearms, body armor, optic, communication and navigation devices, life support and power supply systems and even knee and elbow pads, said the commander of the Land forces colonel-general Vladimir Chirkin.
The equipment can be used by regular infantry, rocket launcher operators, machine gunners, drivers and scouts, noted Chirkin. The equipment sets are light and come in summer and winter variants, Chirkin added, without elaborating on the weight. “Ratnik” was tested during recent Caucasus-2012 command post exercise, the general said. Tests are also ongoing at Alabino testing grounds outside Moscow. The “wonderful sets” may “soon” be introduced in the military, Chirkin said. He gave no timeframe.
The battle suit comprises up-to-date small arms, effective protection kits, reconnaissance assets and communication equipment, – a total of some 10 subsystems. Emphasis has been laid on the effective protection of a soldier on the battlefield, says the editor of the “Voyenno-Promyshlenny Kuryer”, or”Military-Industrial”, newspaper, member of the Public Council of the Russian Government’s Military-Industrial Commission, Mikhail Khodarenok. He added that “Ratnik” is better in every way than its predecessor, the battle suit “Barmitsa”, and obviously superior to its French analogue FELIN, which was originally to be considered as the main prototype. “Ratnik” is by far better in protecting servicemen from enemy small arms, as well as artillery shell and mine fragments.
The multilayer hat can resist the hit of a bullet, fired from a distance of 5 meters to 10 meters. The overalls of the “Alutex” reinforced-fiber composite effectively protects against shell and grenade splinters, while the body armor vest, reinforced by ceramic and hybrid inserts, is effective against small arms, including armor-piercing weapons. “Ratnik” weighs 20 kilograms, or 6 kilos less than its French analogue FELIN, and is fit for action in all conditions any time of the day, says the military observer of the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily, Victor Baranets. According to him, the outfit also comprises a gun, Russia’s latest sub-machinegun AK-12, whose official tests are almost over.”Ratnik” also boasts a largely upgraded communications and navigation equipment, the equipment that the Russian military lacked during the Russian-Georgian military conflict in August 2008, Mikhail Khodarenok says, but the new equipment has largely settled the problem.
Russia planned to buy the limited number of FELIN infantry combat systems from France in 2011, but later opted to produce its own equipment. Development and implementation are expected to be finished by 2015, the government official said last December.
“We have practically finished work on the Ratnik gear and will start purchases of series-produced equipment for our army next year,” Shoigu told reporters on Saturday.
The Ratnik gear has been successfully tested by the Russian military but is adoption into service has been delayed due to uncertainty with the choice of small arms component, which is likely to include the new Kalashnikov AK-12 assault rifle.
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