The Second Coming of the "Warrior"
Equipment of the Ground Forces with new combat gear will begin this year.
We have already addressed the problems of the development, creation and supply of military equipment to the Armed Forces of military personnel ("MIC", № 15, 2014). It was then, however, about the means of protection, intended mainly for special purpose units, performing assault operations and actions in mountainous areas. Today "Military Industrial Courier" continues this current topic.
In the army of the Russian Empire, the great Russian commander Alexander Suvorov was a proponent of the “all-in-one” concept. The personnel of the Suvorov regiments for the long years of campaigning were accustomed to wearing multiplayer shoulder packs, which at that time were called “winds” (apparently, for the ease with which the soldiers carried them). Suvorov correctly selected the allowable payload for his fighters and never forced his subordinates to carry more than he could carry. This made this experience unique in its kind for that time. Nevertheless, until the Anglo-Boer wars of the end of the XIX century, most of the equipment of military personnel was transported in a wagon train and was almost completely impossible for permanent wear.
Soldier as part of the combat system
In modern conditions of warfare, more and more items of equipment are constantly on the military. Moreover, the importance, quantity and cost of items of equipment grow quickly enough. According to the American brigadier General Mark Brown, in 40-ies the soldiers went to the war in uniform, with a rifle, helmet, skatka and a flask. Their equipment weighed about 16 kilograms and cost around 170 dollars in current prices. During the war in Vietnam was added a bulletproof vest, updated weapon and equipment began to cost thousands of dollars in 1,1. Now in Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans are necessarily equipped with body armor and helmets made of composite materials, goggles, fireproof form, including gloves and boots, night vision devices, and laser designators. Their equipment includes more than 80 items with a total weight of about 34 kilograms. According to estimates today, infantry equipment costs from 28 to 60 thousands of dollars and in the future its price will increase.
In economically and technologically developed NATO countries, intensive work is under way on promising military equipment for military personnel. The most ambitious and effective programs that fully reflect the general trends and main directions of R & D in the field of creating an infantry combat kit are deployed in the USA - Land Warrior and Mounted Warrior, Germany - IdZ, UK - FIST, Spain - COMFUT, Sweden - IMESS, France - FELIN. The task in the coming decade will be solved in accordance with the principle of an integrated approach by integrating all elements of equipment into a single promising modular-type combat complex, the use of which will significantly enhance the combat capabilities of personnel.
The equipment currently available in our troops can be conditionally attributed to the first generation. It should be noted that all elements were developed separately, not interconnected, and their weight exceeds 34 kilogram. Frankly, the burden is not easy. This was the main reason for the development of combat equipment of second-generation soldiers. The development takes into account the experience of combat operations, the results of comparative tests of domestic and foreign elements, as well as the results of initiative development of industrial enterprises.
Modern combat equipment is a functionally and structurally integrated elements of the systems of destruction, control, protection, life support and energy supply, designed to carry out their functional duties as part of units, and independently.
At present, the program of creating the second generation “Ratnik” combat gear is being completed, to which dozens of Russian defense enterprises are involved.
The kits are built according to the modular principle and when creating new elements (sights, instruments, protective equipment) there will be no need to recycle all equipment. It consists of dozens of elements, including:
-protective overalls made of flame-retardant fabric, capable of reducing the damaging effects of splinters, grenades, mines and shells;
- a set of armor, including, depending on the purpose, a bullet-proof vest of various protection classes and armor-jackets, which by its characteristics surpasses the existing foreign analogues, allows to protect the vital organs of a military man (the marine type of the bulletproof vest also has positive buoyancy);
-Automatic machine equipped with a night-vision sight, thermal imaging aiming system, a collimator sight, or a video module for firing from the cover consisting of a helmet-mounted mini-monitor and a television sight;
-active headphones that allow you to negotiate during the battle and inside combat vehicles;
-a set of energy supplies;
- protective glasses that can withstand the ingress of small fragments;
-shields on elbow and knee joints;
is a system of life support, which includes various types of backpacks (Raid backpack, backpack patrol, Vest with interchangeable quick release elements), camouflage kits, foldable insulating lining, removable insulation for use in the winter, -ventiliruemaya shirt, rug, cape, helmet liner, mosquito net, tent, water purification filters, autonomous heat sources;
-New combat knife.
The equipment integrated management complex, consisting of communications, targeting, processing and displaying information, as well as identification. It allows you to transfer information about the location of the soldier to the command post, determine the coordinates of the fighter and navigate the terrain using GLONASS and organize sustainable control at the tactical level. The complex allows the soldier to become part of a unified combat system, managed using the latest information technology.
Basic kit, special kit
Elements of combat equipment systems for functional purposes are combined into sets. Sets are divided into group and individual, basic and special, wearable and portable parts. This separation is made for ease of development and organization of delivery to the troops, as well as issuance and use.
An individual set of combat equipment is a set of interrelated in purpose and functionally elements and means of individual purpose, ensuring the effective performance by an individual soldier of combat missions, both independently and as part of a unit.
Group set of combat equipment - a set of elements and means of group mission, ensuring the effective performance of combat missions by the unit.
Basic individual set of combat equipment - a set of elements of individual equipment, designed for all military personnel, regardless of their military occupation, and are the basis of an individual set of combat equipment.
Special individual set of equipment - a set of elements of individual equipment necessary for the performance of combat missions by military personnel in their military specialty. Elements of a special set are compatible with an individual set and do not replace them, but complement. The composition of the kit is determined by the specialty of the serviceman, and its average predicted value can reach 550 thousand rubles.
In order to reduce the maximum load on military personnel and increase their mobility, individual and group kits are divided into portable and portable parts.
The wearable part of the combat equipment kit is a combination of the means of individual and group sets, the presence of which with a serviceman is necessary for the performance of a combat (official) task.
The carrying part of a combat equipment kit is a combination of individual or group kits, which are not required by a soldier under the conditions of a combat (service) task, or is impossible due to the excess of the maximum load on them. The carrying part can be placed and transported on military equipment or vehicles of the units.
To the soldier of the future
The state tests and experimental military operation of new sets of military equipment on the basis of military units of the Ground Forces, Airborne Forces and Naval Infantry have not yet been completed fleet, however, the main conclusions can be drawn now:
- Reduced the weight of wearable equipment in 1,4 times;
- increased protection class of general armored vests;
-the integration of the control system and means of communication with the rest of the equipment;
-Increased effectiveness of small arms 1,2 times;
- ensured the livelihoods of a serviceman in the conduct of hostilities in any climatic conditions.
The equipping of the Ground Forces with combat equipment of the second generation will begin this year, it is planned to be completed by 2020. This will ensure an increase in the efficiency of the performance of combat missions by the units by 1.5-2 times.
When creating equipment of the second generation, the domestic industry did not use all the available scientific potential and potential. For further development, there is an active search for new technologies and design solutions in the conditions of constantly increasing demands of the troops on equipment.
Research in the field of development of protective equipment, carried out in recent years, shows that the main directions of their improvement are weight loss, increased ergonomics, the creation of ballistic materials and new generation armored structures that allow the military man to be protected from modern attack elements, thermobaric and explosive weapons. .
The most promising direction is the creation of a new generation of high-strength materials developed on the basis of nanotechnology for elements of bullet and splinter protection, as well as for adaptive masking. This will reduce the mass of individual body armor by one and a half to two times, reduce the visibility of military personnel in different wavelength ranges, as well as the likelihood of their being detected by radio and optical electronic reconnaissance devices of the enemy.
An important area will be the provision of comprehensive protection against weapons of mass destruction and actively developed at present non-traditional means of destruction.
In order to provide timely and high-quality medical care to the serviceman, to maintain and maintain his health, biomedical life support technologies and human protection will be more widely applied.
When traveling on foot, additional weapons, ammunition and property can be carried by robotic vehicles. For example, in the USA, a system has been developed that moves through four pillars, surprisingly accurately reproducing the motility of an animal. It can move where no other vehicle passes. Conducted research in this area and with us.
One of the important areas is the introduction of biomechanical technologies (unloading clothes, the development and inclusion of exoskeleton structures in the combat equipment), which will ensure an increase in the physical capabilities of a soldier.
At present, a scientific and technical reserve has been created, which allows us to speak about the appearance of the third generation in the next decade. The development and introduction of new technologies will significantly reduce its weight and size characteristics, improve ergonomics, functionality, and security of military personnel. This, in turn, will certainly increase the effectiveness of their combat missions on the battlefield.
In general, the use of modern means of protection of the new generation in military equipment of servicemen will make a solid step towards the look of a soldier of the future. Significantly reduce their vulnerability in combat confrontation with the enemy, increase the combat capabilities of units and units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Oleg Salyukov,
Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Colonel General
Fiction on the march
“Military Industrial Courier” appealed to those who had already tried out the first sets of equipment “Warrior”. The feedback is mostly positive.
“We participated in the testing of the elements of the“ Warrior ”equipment. We had body armor, "unloading", protective helmets, sights, both day and night, and even a thermal imager. Separately, we were taught to work with Sagittarius (complex of intelligence, control and communications. - Approx. A. R.), ”said a soldier who was directly testing a new outfit. In general, he and his colleagues liked the elements of the “Warrior”:
“The bulletproof vest and unloading are very comfortable, the helmet is protective, lightweight, one might say, weightless. We were told that he protects an order of magnitude better than our regular ones. I don’t know how true this is, we haven’t experienced it on ourselves, but what sits comfortably on the head, even with prolonged wearing, you’re practically not tired - that’s yes. ”
Another test participant noted that they were most afraid of jumping with a parachute in Sagittarius: Bronik, helmet, unloading - this is all clear and familiar. But there is also a whole bunch of wires - to the radio station and the Sagittarius terminal, sights on weapons, all kinds of surveillance devices on the helmet are attached. Well, how to jump with all this? There were thoughts that they would hook onto the lines, prevent the dome from opening ... "
But the fears were in vain. Landing with all the elements went well, with no noticeable problems, not to mention the incidents.
However, as interlocutors recognized, not all electronic stuffing, including night-vision sights and thermal imagers, works steadily.
“Once at a time it’s not necessary, it happens that devices are“ buggy ”. Still, some of the elements are still raw. Of course, I would like everything to work properly. But honestly, a lot of things look to us in general from the field of science fiction, ”one of the test participants shared with sensations.
All interlocutors are worried about one question: what kind of automaton will it be? "Sniper" we saw. And large-caliber, and SVD modernized. Machine guns have seen. But we all argue whether AK-12 or AEK. But here we are no longer deciding. And to be honest, neither one nor the other has yet been held in their hands. It will be somehow unusual if the new machine is given instead of the usual Kalashnikov. ”
We have already addressed the problems of the development, creation and supply of military equipment to the Armed Forces of military personnel ("MIC", № 15, 2014). It was then, however, about the means of protection, intended mainly for special purpose units, performing assault operations and actions in mountainous areas. Today "Military Industrial Courier" continues this current topic.
In the army of the Russian Empire, the great Russian commander Alexander Suvorov was a proponent of the “all-in-one” concept. The personnel of the Suvorov regiments for the long years of campaigning were accustomed to wearing multiplayer shoulder packs, which at that time were called “winds” (apparently, for the ease with which the soldiers carried them). Suvorov correctly selected the allowable payload for his fighters and never forced his subordinates to carry more than he could carry. This made this experience unique in its kind for that time. Nevertheless, until the Anglo-Boer wars of the end of the XIX century, most of the equipment of military personnel was transported in a wagon train and was almost completely impossible for permanent wear.
Soldier as part of the combat system
In modern conditions of warfare, more and more items of equipment are constantly on the military. Moreover, the importance, quantity and cost of items of equipment grow quickly enough. According to the American brigadier General Mark Brown, in 40-ies the soldiers went to the war in uniform, with a rifle, helmet, skatka and a flask. Their equipment weighed about 16 kilograms and cost around 170 dollars in current prices. During the war in Vietnam was added a bulletproof vest, updated weapon and equipment began to cost thousands of dollars in 1,1. Now in Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans are necessarily equipped with body armor and helmets made of composite materials, goggles, fireproof form, including gloves and boots, night vision devices, and laser designators. Their equipment includes more than 80 items with a total weight of about 34 kilograms. According to estimates today, infantry equipment costs from 28 to 60 thousands of dollars and in the future its price will increase.
In economically and technologically developed NATO countries, intensive work is under way on promising military equipment for military personnel. The most ambitious and effective programs that fully reflect the general trends and main directions of R & D in the field of creating an infantry combat kit are deployed in the USA - Land Warrior and Mounted Warrior, Germany - IdZ, UK - FIST, Spain - COMFUT, Sweden - IMESS, France - FELIN. The task in the coming decade will be solved in accordance with the principle of an integrated approach by integrating all elements of equipment into a single promising modular-type combat complex, the use of which will significantly enhance the combat capabilities of personnel.
The equipment currently available in our troops can be conditionally attributed to the first generation. It should be noted that all elements were developed separately, not interconnected, and their weight exceeds 34 kilogram. Frankly, the burden is not easy. This was the main reason for the development of combat equipment of second-generation soldiers. The development takes into account the experience of combat operations, the results of comparative tests of domestic and foreign elements, as well as the results of initiative development of industrial enterprises.
Modern combat equipment is a functionally and structurally integrated elements of the systems of destruction, control, protection, life support and energy supply, designed to carry out their functional duties as part of units, and independently.
At present, the program of creating the second generation “Ratnik” combat gear is being completed, to which dozens of Russian defense enterprises are involved.
Andrei Sedykh collage
The kits are built according to the modular principle and when creating new elements (sights, instruments, protective equipment) there will be no need to recycle all equipment. It consists of dozens of elements, including:
-protective overalls made of flame-retardant fabric, capable of reducing the damaging effects of splinters, grenades, mines and shells;
- a set of armor, including, depending on the purpose, a bullet-proof vest of various protection classes and armor-jackets, which by its characteristics surpasses the existing foreign analogues, allows to protect the vital organs of a military man (the marine type of the bulletproof vest also has positive buoyancy);
-Automatic machine equipped with a night-vision sight, thermal imaging aiming system, a collimator sight, or a video module for firing from the cover consisting of a helmet-mounted mini-monitor and a television sight;
-active headphones that allow you to negotiate during the battle and inside combat vehicles;
-a set of energy supplies;
- protective glasses that can withstand the ingress of small fragments;
-shields on elbow and knee joints;
is a system of life support, which includes various types of backpacks (Raid backpack, backpack patrol, Vest with interchangeable quick release elements), camouflage kits, foldable insulating lining, removable insulation for use in the winter, -ventiliruemaya shirt, rug, cape, helmet liner, mosquito net, tent, water purification filters, autonomous heat sources;
-New combat knife.
The equipment integrated management complex, consisting of communications, targeting, processing and displaying information, as well as identification. It allows you to transfer information about the location of the soldier to the command post, determine the coordinates of the fighter and navigate the terrain using GLONASS and organize sustainable control at the tactical level. The complex allows the soldier to become part of a unified combat system, managed using the latest information technology.
Basic kit, special kit
Elements of combat equipment systems for functional purposes are combined into sets. Sets are divided into group and individual, basic and special, wearable and portable parts. This separation is made for ease of development and organization of delivery to the troops, as well as issuance and use.
An individual set of combat equipment is a set of interrelated in purpose and functionally elements and means of individual purpose, ensuring the effective performance by an individual soldier of combat missions, both independently and as part of a unit.
Group set of combat equipment - a set of elements and means of group mission, ensuring the effective performance of combat missions by the unit.
Basic individual set of combat equipment - a set of elements of individual equipment, designed for all military personnel, regardless of their military occupation, and are the basis of an individual set of combat equipment.
Special individual set of equipment - a set of elements of individual equipment necessary for the performance of combat missions by military personnel in their military specialty. Elements of a special set are compatible with an individual set and do not replace them, but complement. The composition of the kit is determined by the specialty of the serviceman, and its average predicted value can reach 550 thousand rubles.
In order to reduce the maximum load on military personnel and increase their mobility, individual and group kits are divided into portable and portable parts.
The wearable part of the combat equipment kit is a combination of the means of individual and group sets, the presence of which with a serviceman is necessary for the performance of a combat (official) task.
The carrying part of a combat equipment kit is a combination of individual or group kits, which are not required by a soldier under the conditions of a combat (service) task, or is impossible due to the excess of the maximum load on them. The carrying part can be placed and transported on military equipment or vehicles of the units.
To the soldier of the future
The state tests and experimental military operation of new sets of military equipment on the basis of military units of the Ground Forces, Airborne Forces and Naval Infantry have not yet been completed fleet, however, the main conclusions can be drawn now:
- Reduced the weight of wearable equipment in 1,4 times;
- increased protection class of general armored vests;
-the integration of the control system and means of communication with the rest of the equipment;
-Increased effectiveness of small arms 1,2 times;
- ensured the livelihoods of a serviceman in the conduct of hostilities in any climatic conditions.
The equipping of the Ground Forces with combat equipment of the second generation will begin this year, it is planned to be completed by 2020. This will ensure an increase in the efficiency of the performance of combat missions by the units by 1.5-2 times.
When creating equipment of the second generation, the domestic industry did not use all the available scientific potential and potential. For further development, there is an active search for new technologies and design solutions in the conditions of constantly increasing demands of the troops on equipment.Research in the field of development of protective equipment, carried out in recent years, shows that the main directions of their improvement are weight loss, increased ergonomics, the creation of ballistic materials and new generation armored structures that allow the military man to be protected from modern attack elements, thermobaric and explosive weapons. .
The most promising direction is the creation of a new generation of high-strength materials developed on the basis of nanotechnology for elements of bullet and splinter protection, as well as for adaptive masking. This will reduce the mass of individual body armor by one and a half to two times, reduce the visibility of military personnel in different wavelength ranges, as well as the likelihood of their being detected by radio and optical electronic reconnaissance devices of the enemy.
An important area will be the provision of comprehensive protection against weapons of mass destruction and actively developed at present non-traditional means of destruction.
In order to provide timely and high-quality medical care to the serviceman, to maintain and maintain his health, biomedical life support technologies and human protection will be more widely applied.
When traveling on foot, additional weapons, ammunition and property can be carried by robotic vehicles. For example, in the USA, a system has been developed that moves through four pillars, surprisingly accurately reproducing the motility of an animal. It can move where no other vehicle passes. Conducted research in this area and with us.
One of the important areas is the introduction of biomechanical technologies (unloading clothes, the development and inclusion of exoskeleton structures in the combat equipment), which will ensure an increase in the physical capabilities of a soldier.
At present, a scientific and technical reserve has been created, which allows us to speak about the appearance of the third generation in the next decade. The development and introduction of new technologies will significantly reduce its weight and size characteristics, improve ergonomics, functionality, and security of military personnel. This, in turn, will certainly increase the effectiveness of their combat missions on the battlefield.
In general, the use of modern means of protection of the new generation in military equipment of servicemen will make a solid step towards the look of a soldier of the future. Significantly reduce their vulnerability in combat confrontation with the enemy, increase the combat capabilities of units and units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Oleg Salyukov,
Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Colonel General
Fiction on the march
“Military Industrial Courier” appealed to those who had already tried out the first sets of equipment “Warrior”. The feedback is mostly positive.
“We participated in the testing of the elements of the“ Warrior ”equipment. We had body armor, "unloading", protective helmets, sights, both day and night, and even a thermal imager. Separately, we were taught to work with Sagittarius (complex of intelligence, control and communications. - Approx. A. R.), ”said a soldier who was directly testing a new outfit. In general, he and his colleagues liked the elements of the “Warrior”:
“The bulletproof vest and unloading are very comfortable, the helmet is protective, lightweight, one might say, weightless. We were told that he protects an order of magnitude better than our regular ones. I don’t know how true this is, we haven’t experienced it on ourselves, but what sits comfortably on the head, even with prolonged wearing, you’re practically not tired - that’s yes. ”
Another test participant noted that they were most afraid of jumping with a parachute in Sagittarius: Bronik, helmet, unloading - this is all clear and familiar. But there is also a whole bunch of wires - to the radio station and the Sagittarius terminal, sights on weapons, all kinds of surveillance devices on the helmet are attached. Well, how to jump with all this? There were thoughts that they would hook onto the lines, prevent the dome from opening ... "
But the fears were in vain. Landing with all the elements went well, with no noticeable problems, not to mention the incidents.
However, as interlocutors recognized, not all electronic stuffing, including night-vision sights and thermal imagers, works steadily.
“Once at a time it’s not necessary, it happens that devices are“ buggy ”. Still, some of the elements are still raw. Of course, I would like everything to work properly. But honestly, a lot of things look to us in general from the field of science fiction, ”one of the test participants shared with sensations.
All interlocutors are worried about one question: what kind of automaton will it be? "Sniper" we saw. And large-caliber, and SVD modernized. Machine guns have seen. But we all argue whether AK-12 or AEK. But here we are no longer deciding. And to be honest, neither one nor the other has yet been held in their hands. It will be somehow unusual if the new machine is given instead of the usual Kalashnikov. ”
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