MOSCOW, November 3 (RIA Novosti) — The next generation Ratnik military gear will be adopted into service by the Russian Army by the end of 2015, the head of the Central Research Institute for Precision Machine Building (TsNIITochash) Dmitri Semizorov told journalists Monday.
"The first delivery of the Ratnik war gear is expected this year and it will be instantly adopted into service," Semizorov announced.
Semizorov noted that it was up to the customer to decide which units would get the equipment.
The gear, dubbed Ratnik, comprises more than 40 components, including firearms, body armor and optical, communication and navigation devices, as well as life support, power supply systems, knee and elbow pads. The equipment can be used by regular infantry, rocket launcher operators, machine gunners, drivers and scouts.
Many other nations have similar future soldier equipment programs in progress, including the U.S. Land Warrior, Germany's IdZ, Britain's FIST, Spain's COMFUT, Sweden's IMESS and France's FELIN.
