It’s not a secret for anyone what significance the equipment of an individual soldier has for the defense capability of the whole country. Comfortable form, worthy means of protection, modern weapons, reliable communication - it is difficult to overestimate the value of these components. And in place of the heavy jackets and "kirzach" comes a fundamentally new equipment, designed to provide the soldier with maximum comfort and mobility.
The very notion of “warrior costume” in the broad sense means not only a set of high-quality military uniforms. This is a complete set of equipment, including all the components necessary for a soldier to work effectively. For development, the latest scientific achievements in the field of navigation, advanced aiming and night vision systems, a control system for the psychophysiological state of the fighter, the best materials for the manufacture of body armor and clothing were used.
A word about the creators
Leading specialists, including FSUE TsNIITOCHMASH, NPO Spetstekhnika i Svyaz, OJSC TsNII Tsiklon, NPO Spetsmaterialov, and many others, had a hand in the development and production of the equipment of the Russian Soldier of the Future. The basis was the previously developed Russian military equipment Barmitsa.
Features
As the developers planned, the Warrior combat suit was worthy of competition with its foreign counterparts, in many ways even surpassing them. The equipment includes about 10 subsystems. The kit has a modular layout, and it can be used in a wide variety of combat conditions, regardless of the season and time of day.
The military costume “Warrior” was first presented to the general public at the MAKS-2011 air show. Tests of the new equipment started in December 2012, they were conducted in Alabino near Moscow. As a result, the new uniform and equipment was awarded the highest marks by specialists.
Equipment
The equipment includes several systems consisting of dozens of elements:
- The overalls made of special Alutex fiber, which can withstand splinters of grenades and mines and not succumb to bullets at the end, are also fire resistant.
- Armor protection, the main part of which is the 6B43 bulletproof vest of the sixth grade or Br5 of the fifth grade. Depending on the characteristics of the unit and the assigned combat missions, the Warrior costume can be equipped with body armor with additional protective plates.
- A multi-layer helmet that can withstand 9-caliber bullets from a distance of 5-10 meters.
- The system "Sagittarius", including communications, collection, target designation, processing, display information. The system not only allows you to analyze the information received directly to the fighter himself, but also transfers the necessary data to the command post.
- A communicator connected to GLONASS and GPS systems for solving tasks related to terrain orientation, target designation, correction, and other applied calculations.
- Power supply devices.
- Filters for water purification.
- Tactical anti-splinter glasses.
- Independent heat sources.
- Special guards for knees and elbows.
- Small arms (machine gun, machine gun, rifle) equipped with an appropriate night vision scope for large-caliber weapons, normal surveillance or reconnaissance.
- A video module for firing from a shelter, consisting of a thermal imaging sight, a helmet-mounted display with a control system.
- Thermal imaging sight "Shahin", integrated directly into the weapon and providing detection, recognition and conducting targeted shooting.
- Collimator sight "Krechet". Optionally - other optical devices.
- Various types of backpacks, camouflage kits, a folding heat-insulating mat, a ventilated T-shirt, a removable winter insulation, a vest with pockets and ammunition pouches, a karemat, a raincoat, a hat, a balaclava, a mosquito net.
- Sleeping bag and tent.
- Frost-resistant battery for electronic devices.
- Active headphones.
- Knife "Bumblebee".
- The "friend or foe" sensor with an electronic map that allows you to determine your own location, as well as the location of friendly and enemy forces. Group commanders are equipped with tablets with advanced features.
Benefits
Despite the unity of the general concept, the Warrior protective suit has many varieties corresponding to the military branches. For example, a marine body armor is also endowed with the properties of a life vest.
The modular system allows you to complete the vest in accordance with the needs and convenience of each fighter. Communication systems allow the group not only to receive relevant information, conduct surveys, transfer data to the command post, but also act as a single mechanism.
Weapon
For the right to arm the soldier of the future, two domestic giant gunsmiths fought at once - the Kalashnikov concern and TsNIITOCHMASH. Automatic "Kord" was quite worthy of competition AK-12, but the victory went to the latter. In addition to the machine, which took center stage in the development, about 30 other types of weapons were modernized, including machine guns of various calibers, sniper systems, and disposable and reusable hand grenade launchers.
Prospects
The “Warrior” protective suit successfully passed all the planned military tests. Currently, the Izhmash plant launched serial production of AK-12. The first samples in the amount of 50 thousand units have already entered service with some special forces of the Russian army. Designers did not stop there - improvement of equipment continues to this day. Currently, a number of countries have expressed a desire to purchase a Warrior costume for their own armed forces, the price of which will depend on the configuration and performance (there is no reliable information about the cost of new uniforms, however, Rosoboronexport is in no hurry to equip foreign military equipment with the latest technology . The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation sets the goal of fully equipping all units with new equipment by 2020.