MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/. The Central Research Institute of Precision Machine-Building (TsNIITochMash, part of the state tech corporation Rostec) delivered almost 300,000 Ratnik combat outfits to the Russian troops over eight years, the Rostec press office announced on Thursday.
"The Central Research Institute of Precision Machine-Building (TsNIITochMash) of the state corporation Rostec has delivered almost 300,000 Ratnik combat outfits to the troops over eight years. The Ratnik’s main specific feature is the ability to adapt the combat outfit to the physical properties of a serviceman and the assigned combat tasks. Aside from the baseline gear, the commander’s version and the outfits for snipers, machine-gun operators and the crews of fighting vehicles have been developed," Rostec said.
The Ratnik combat outfit integrates over 60 elements: weapons, sights, individual protection gear, sets of autonomous sources of heat, communications devices and an active hearing protection systems, the press office quoted Rostec Industrial Director Bekkhan Ozdoyev as saying.
"Today military specialists are developing operational requirements for the Sotnik gear, a principally new soldier of the future combat outfit. We expect to get the specifications for its development already in 2021," Ozdoyev said.
Rostec announced in November that almost 18,000 Ratnik combat outfits had been delivered to the troops under the 2020 defense procurement plan ahead of schedule.
The Ratnik is a system of advanced protective and communications equipment, weapons and ammunition. It comprises over 60 protective and life support elements and allows a soldier to get continuously updated about the situation on the battlefield. In addition, the Ratnik includes a self-contained heater, a backpack, an individual water filter, a gas mask and a medical kit.
The second-generation Ratnik combat gear has been arriving for Russia’s ground forces, the Airborne Force and marines since 2016.
An advanced Ratnik-3 combat gear with an integral exoskeleton and a helmet visor-mounted target designation system is currently being developed for Russia’s Armed Forces.