KUBINKA /Moscow Region/, August 25. /TASS/. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered to wrap up the state trials of the newest firearms and protective gear for the Aerospace Forces pilots next year after visiting the Kalashnikov firearms center at the Patriot expo center Wednesday.

Kalashnikov chief designer Sergey Urzhumtsev presented the Minister with cutting-edge technical solutions for the wearable survival kit for the pilots. The kit includes a compact Lebedev PLK handgun and a vest with a set of defensive grenades. He also presented a PPK-20 submachinegun, equipped with a suppressor and a folding stock. The gun that weighs 3 kilograms is fed with 30-round magazines. He also presented a new SVCh semi-automatic sniper rifle and a handheld rocket-propelled grenade launcher with 40-mm ammunition.

After examining the weapons and listening to the chief designer’s report on perspectives of commissioning of the new equipment, the Defense Ministry ordered to finalize the trials not in 2023, as was stated during the demonstration, but in 2022.

The Minister approved the new designs.

"You did it, and here we’ve been talking about it for years! This is exactly the kit we ordered!" Shoigu concluded after the firearm demonstration.

The Minister was also presented with the newest bulletproof vests. The developers reported they were able to improve its ergonomics without reducing its protective area and capabilities. While providing enough bullet protection, the new vests do not reduce mobility on the battlefield. The vests could be quickly adjusted to a wearer, and the weight is mostly distributed on the wearer’s waist instead of shoulders.

"We are primarily talking about an optimal distribution of weight, not merely its reduction," the designers said.