It is not news that Russia has one of the strongest armies in the world. Well, every strong military institution has its loads of highly functional gears to thank for that. Russia has the Ratnik to thank.
Ratnik, which means Warrior in Russian, is a Russian future infantry combat system. It was specifically designed to improve the connectivity and effectiveness of military personnel during combat. The goal is to ensure the best possible protection for the soldiers in the Russian Armed Forces.
The Ratnik features body armor, a helmet with a special eye monitor which makes use of thermal, night vision monocular, flashlight. It also supports communication systems and special headphones. It includes 10 subsystems and 59 individual items. The Ratnik was introduced for combat use in October 2016.
The Ratnik gear features some of the best protective advancements that can be seen in modern-day body armor or plate carrier. The system features modern protective and communication devices, weapons, and ammunition. It also consists of a helmet, body armor, a one-piece coverall, hearing protection, and protective glasses.
It also features a protective set for knees and elbows, a grenade launcher, submachine gun or assault rifle and sniper rifle. The Russian army also enjoy its combat knife as well as 24/7 reconnaissance which means a day and night sighting system, a small-size binocular, optical and thermal weapon sights, etc.
The Ratnik protects almost 90% of a soldier’s body. That is much more coverage than regular plate carriers. The main body armor functions as a plate carrier with plates designated 6B45. It is also rated at protection class 6, according to GOST R 50744-95, and weighs 7.5 kg (with the Assault variant weighing up to 15 kg.)
Also, the main body armor can fully protect the wearers from 7.62×39mm rounds from assault rifles, and 7.62×54mmR from sniper rifles, including the increased penetration of hardened rounds. It can also survive hits from repeated shots in these calibers conducted at close range.
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