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Russia has already started development of Ratnik-3 new-generation of individual soldier equipment TASS 11410161

Military Defense Industry Technology - Ratnik Future Soldier

Russia has already started development of Ratnik-3 new-generation of individual soldier equipment

Ratnik-3 new-generation individual equipment being developed by TsNIITochMash design bureau will receive a blue fire prevention system, according to a source in Russian defense industry.

New generation of Russian-made Ratnik future soldier individual equipment in desert camouflage at AAD 2016, defense exhibition in South Africa

"TsNIITochMash is continuing to enhance Ratnik in order to make it the most sophisticated new-generation individual equipment. The bureau has already started the program to develop the third generation of Ratnik (so-called Ratnik-3). The equipment is supposed to include health monitoring devices, friend-or-foe identification unit and blue fire prevention system. It will result in significant reduction of losses on the modern battlefield. Soldiers equipped with Ratnik-3 will be able to distinguish teammates from adversaries and to provide sufficient firepower to eliminate enemy`s manpower and armoured vehicles", the source said.

However. Russia`s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has yet to draft the requirements to the new equipment. "The terms of reference to the friend-or-foe identification system of Ratnik-3 have not been defined yet", the source pointed out.

He added that the MoD is willing to reduce the equipment`s combat weight and to increase its effectiveness. "Ratnik-3 will retain the structure of basic Ratnik equipment that includes five subsystems, namely, firepower, protection, command-and-control, power supply and life support", the source emphasized.

At present, Russia`s Armed Forces are receiving the second-generation Ratnik equipment kits (so-called Ratnik-2). It includes new battle dress uniform, 6B45 modular body armour with MOLLE system, 6B49 lightweight combat helmet, new backpack and pouches, reinforced combat boots, Strelets command-and-control (C2) system, modular combat vest, and advanced weapons. According to the Director General of TsNIITochMash, Dmitry Semizorov, Russia`s MoD has ordered over 100,000 Ratnik-2 kits.

The armament suite seems to be a troublesome for the developers of Ratnik. The organic assault rifle for the Ratnik-2 kit has yet to be chosen. At present, there are two options, namely, AK-12 developed by the Kalashnikov Concern and A-545 developed by the Degtyarev Plant (a subsidiary of the High-Precision Weapons holding). The trials of both firearms are planned to be finished by end-2016. Their specifications are not disclosed. Both AK-12 and A-545 are chambered for Russian M74 5.45x39mm cartridge inherited from AK-74/AK-74M. Ratnik-2 is reported to include an assault rifle chambered for Soviet M43 7.62x39mm cartridge. Russian defense industry has developed two assault rifles (namely, Kalashnikov AK-103-3 and Degtyarev A-762) that are competing under the Ratnik program.

At the same time, Ratnik-2 has received organic semi-automatic designated marksman rifle (DMR), namely, Dragunov SVDM (M stands for upgraded, Modernizirovannaya). SVDM is chambered for Soviet/Russian M1908 7.62x54mm cartridge. The sniper rifle has a weight of 5.3 kg, a full length of 1,155 mm (including a barrel of 550 mm) and a magazine capacity of 10 cartridges. SVDM has received Picatinny rails for optical/red-dot sights, folding skeleton stock with adjustable cheek, bipod and ergonomic pistol grip.

It is noteworthy that Ratnik-2 comprises two anti-material rifles (AMR), namely, 6V7M and 6V7M-1 chambered for 12.7x108mm cartridge.

However, the Ratnik-2 equipment kit has yet to receive a high precision manually-operated sniper rifle. According to Semizorov, the state trials of the newest Tochnost (Precision) sniper rifle for Ratnik are supposed to be finished in the shortest time possible.

Ratnik is going to get new automatic grenade launcher (AGL), namely, AGS-30M developed by Tula-based Instrument Design Bureau (Russian acronym: KBP, a subsidiary of the High-Precision Weapons holding). The AGL is chambered for 30x29mm grenade. AGS-30M has a combat weight of 29.7 kg, a length of 840 mm (including a barrel of 290 mm), a firing rate of 390-425 rounds per minute, a muzzle velocity of 185 m/s and a firing range of 1,700 m. It is equipped with 2.7x optical sight.

6P41 Pecheneg developed by TsNIITochMash is the new organic machinegun for Ratnik-2. It is chambered for M1908 7.62x54mm cartridge. 6P41 has a weight of 8.2 kg, a length of 1,155 mm (including a barrel of 658 mm), a firing rate of 650 rounds per minute, a muzzle velocity of 825 m/s and an effective firing range of 1,000 m.

It should be noted that Ratnik lacks organic pistol. "TsNIITochMash has decided not to include any pistol in the armament suite of Ratnik", the source said.