In the US, work has begun on the creation of a protective helmet, which is very similar to the props of the movie "Star Wars", and are engaged in the design of exoskeletons that can increase the strength of a person, making him actually a "robocop". According to experts, a soldier of the XXI century, who put on the armor that is now being developed for him, will completely lose his human features, and he will have to think less, computers will do a lot for him. In fact, such a "star infantryman" will have only one function - opening fire on order, using the specified enemy as a target. But all this is theory, but what
will be in reality?
Forgotten pages of history
An infantry helmet in the spirit of "Star Wars" is good, but in the aforementioned Hollywood blockbuster, it was not these stormtroopers that won the victory, but the brave and fair Jedi, whose ammunition consisted of ordinary clothes, which are similar to those worn by our Slavic ancestors - a loose shirt with belt, comfortable pants and boots. It seems surprising, but the military uniform a thousand years ago was much more functional than even at the beginning of the 20th century.
They used to dress so that it was comfortable to fight and work. A wide belt served to protect the warrior's abdomen and spine, it was more convenient to move on horseback in boots, moreover, a short dagger was placed in the boots, which was later called a knife. Before the battle, chain mail or some other protection was worn over the shirt, which protected the warrior from the piercing-cutting weapon of the enemy. Then everything depended on the martial art of a particular person, it is worth saying that our glorious ancestors mastered it perfectly. It's a paradox, but the outfit of the squad of the Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy looked more optimal than the military uniform of the armies that met at the Borodino field. And they fought on the Kulikovo field in a contact maneuvering battle, while at Borodinskoye, soldiers and officers spent many hours standing in dense "boxes" or moving at a combat pace, or freezing in beautiful squares. Yes, they were dressed in beautiful European uniforms, but at the same time they often suffered senseless losses.
At the same time, it is even more paradoxical that the world trend in the development of military uniforms for centuries has been the same - inconvenient, but beautiful. Even now, in the new millennium, the belief that uniforms for officers and soldiers can be designed only by fashionable couturiers, and not at all by people who realize that uniforms should be first of all comfortable for combat, and not beautiful, will remain.
But common sense gradually takes its toll. In the most militarily developed countries, the military uniform is undergoing qualitative changes. Yes, of course, ceremonial uniforms will not disappear anywhere, in which it will not be a shame to appear outside the garrison, as will the field uniform, on which new combat ammunition will be put on. And our army will still have to abandon the beautiful form proposed by Yudashkin, which at the same time could not endure the tests of the harsh Russian winter.
Jedi in Cyborg Garb
The future clothing of a NATO soldier will be very functional, its distinctive feature will be that it will be possible to wear any modern armor, which can be very diverse, on top of it. So, in the new American helmet, it is planned to implement, first of all, protection against damaging factors in the form of such effects as undermining a guerrilla land mine. It is expected that it will be possible to achieve that the action of the shock wave is not transmitted to the eardrums, and there is no concussion. The helmet will be stuffed with computer and radio equipment to the maximum. Without removing the helmet, the soldier will be able to track his coordinates on the battlefield, receive commands and target designations. It is possible that filters will be installed in the helmet, which will give it the properties of a gas mask.
If he speaks of the so-called exoskeleton, which is now used for loading and unloading operations, then it will become even more powerful and ergonomic, but most importantly, lighter. In an exoskeleton, a soldier will be able to move around the battlefield with a heavy load on his shoulders, jumping over mine-dangerous areas, and nimbly climb hills or tall buildings. The developers of these technical innovations assure that they will be primarily necessary in anti-terrorist operations, but at the same time the army is always created not to fight the partisans, but primarily to counter the enemy's regular units.
Polyethylene as armor
Even during the Vietnam War, the Americans understood that a soldier in combat conditions should be maximally protected, they finally understood this after the end of the USSR's hostilities in Afghanistan. The US Army, which stepped into a series of local conflicts of the twentieth century, was not at all like itself during the shameful withdrawal from Southeast Asia. The uniforms and ammunition of the American soldier who landed in the Persian Gulf in the 1990s differed from that in which the expeditionary force in Vietnam was dressed, like a supersonic pilot's spacesuit from the uniform of a pilot of the First World War.
In the near future, the protection of soldiers will become even more versatile and durable. The fighter's back and chest will be covered with hard titanium or ceramic plates, capable of withstanding not only a rifle bullet, but also extinguish the blast wave. The sides of the body, legs and arms will be covered with flexible synthetic bulletproof pads.
Currently, Kevlar is used as synthetic armor. However, it is likely that polyethylene will replace it in the near future. As it turned out, this well-known polymer, produced with nano-additives, becomes the owner of amazing properties: it becomes more resistant to external factors than Kevlar. At the same time, the softness of polyethylene guarantees the absence of a traumatic effect, which is inherent in modern body armor. Thus, a bullet may not pierce a bulletproof vest, but a soldier's body receives a dynamic blow of such force, which sometimes leads to rupture of internal organs, which can lead to his death. It is clear that this is excluded when using polyethylene. Moreover, this material is lighter than water. In this case, the body armor will also be able to perform the function of a life jacket, which is very important for the crews of warships and marines. Perhaps it is polyethylene that will become a kind of multifunctional armor of the future.
Our armor for the soldier
NATO has been actively engaged in long-term protection for its soldiers for a long time. Moreover, each of the countries is trying to bring something of its own. So far, France and the United States are in the lead. In these countries, real combat systems are being created for those who have to fight on the ground. Everything described above is being developed in the USA. But the French ammunition FELIN received great fame. It is much less exotic in comparison with what is being developed in the United States by order of the Pentagon, but at the same time it is no less functional. And what is happening in our country?
It may seem strange, but in many areas of providing protection and creating a convenient form, we were not so long ago in the world leaders, and even today not all positions are lost. The new outfit of a soldier of the Russian army is not the beautiful uniforms that are shown to the military and civilian public on the catwalks. This is a whole complex of protection, navigation and communication, which meets all the basic requirements of modern combat.
French outfit FELIN
Work on the creation of fundamentally new forms of protection and defeat began in our country back in the 80s of the XX century. The work was carried out at the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering in the city of Klimovsk. One of the world's leading manufacturers of equipment and small arms is hidden behind this little-speaking abbreviation. This research institute knows very well how to protect soldiers on the battlefield.
At one time, it was in Russia, and not in the NATO countries, that they were the first to start implementing the concept of “soldier as a combat system”. In our country, an interconnected complex of protection, life support, control and even power supply of a single soldier was designed. In the developed domestic complex, a sensor-transmitter was provided, which gave signals about the vital parameters of the human body. Suppose, after the end of a difficult battle, it was possible to immediately determine exactly which of the soldiers was alive, and who needed help, and where the wounded soldier was.
In appearance, our promising outfit looks even more aesthetically pleasing than the massive one worn by a poster soldier of the American army. Almost now it is in no way inferior to the famous French FELIN set, except in price.
The protection of the domestic soldier, as in most Western models, is combined and differentiated. All vital organs are covered with light titanium armor, which is able to withstand the hit of an automatic bullet. Synthetic protection is also widely used. The usual helmet is replaced by helmets in a wide variety of designs: titanium, combined, composite or steel. Our helmets are less exotic, like promising American ones, but they also save the ears from barotrauma, and the brain from concussion.
Unfortunately, bulletproof polyethylene is not available to Russia today, primarily in terms of technology. However, already now the body armor for the Russian Navy simultaneously performs the function of a life jacket. If any sailor on duty, requiring the wearing of a body armor, finds himself in the water, he will not drown, but will float on the surface like a float. This development is a domestic know-how.
Personal means of navigation and communication are also required for the Russian soldier of the future. Each soldier going on a mission must have a personal radio device and a GLONASS satellite navigation receiver. This set of uniforms has already been recommended for adoption, there is a hope that it will begin to enter the troops in the near future.