Tag Archives: Ratnik

Russia and also USSR

There is a Surprising Amount of Russian Ratnik Gear on eBay

Russia began evolving the weapons and gear their infantry were using in 2013 as part of an ongoing program known as “Ratnik” that translates as “warrior”. Gone are the days of throwing poorly trained and equipped soldiers into battle. What they are developing rivals any modern first world military force.

6B45 Ballistic Vest
6B6 Tactical Vest
6B47 Helmet
6sh117 All-purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment

In researching about Ratnik for a blog post I just did, I was surprised at how much gear has already found its way onto eBay. It goes to show how efficient the surplus market is I suppose plus that the program has been in effect for nearly six years at this point.

What can you find on eBay? In digging, I have found:

  • 6B38 MPL-50 Shovel
  • 6B38 60L RAID Backpack
  • 6B50 Ballistic Goggles
  • 6B51 Knee and Elbow Pads
  • 6E1 Water Filter and Pouch
  • 6E4-1 Watches
  • 6E4-2 Watches
  • 6E6 Multi tool
  • 6SH117 Tactical Vest
  • 6M2 Active Hearing Headphones
  • FSS-014 Flashlight
  • GSSH-01 Active Headphones

There are also a lot of hats, coats, uniforms, gloves and more. So, if you are wondering where you can find the modern Russian Ratnik gear, you definitely need to check out eBay and I created a live link to eBay where you can see posts that you can order:

Live eBay Feed You Can Order From

You can click here to open a new tab with eBay search results. The following examples are live posts on eBay. If you click on a listing, it will appear with more details and there will be links to others as well:

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Photo source: By Vitaly V. Kuzmin – http://vitalykuzmin.net/?q=node/524, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29469738

Russia and also USSR

The Russian Ratnik Program – The Evolution of the Future Infantry Combat System

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In past blog posts, I have featured the modernization efforts of the base Kalashnikov rifle that resulted in the 5.45×39 AK-12. What many people do not know is that this was just part of a much broader Russian program to create a future infantry combat system. The name of this program is “Ratnik” (Ратник) that translates as warrior.

While R&D started ear;lier, prototype Ratnik kits for the first generation components were delivered in 2013. Firearms, optics, communication, navigation, uniform, load bearing and body armor elements were accepted into service on October 23, 2014. Approximate 200,000 sets were delivered by September 2017, and 100% adoption is estimated in 2020 of the Ratnik-2 system. Ratnik-3 hasn’t been released yet but the suit will include a powered exoskeleton to improve strength, speed and stamina.

Overall, what you are seeing is a concerted move away from the Soviet doctrine of volumes of relative untrained and marginally equipped armed forces personnel (all branches exclude Spetsnaz) to that of a professional modern force of trained and well equipped soldiers.

Soldier with an AK-12 rifle with a blank firing adapter. He is wearing a 6B45 ballistic vest, 6sh117 lightweight individual carrying equipment, and, 6B47 helmet.

Soldier with an AK-12 rifle with a blank firing adapter. He is wearing a 6B45 ballistic vest, 6sh117 lightweight individual carrying equipment, and, 6B47 helmet. 6B50 Protective goggles, 6B51 knee and elbow pads were part of Ratnik also.
Better view of the 76B47 helpes with covers and the 6B50 eye goggles.
This is the 6B46 tactical vest
Improved communications capabilities.

The Videos

The following video is in Russian but affords the viewer a really good opportunity to see the Ratnik-1 and -2 equipment first hand.

The following is a brief video showing Russian Paratroopers doing drills in Pskov.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Please note that any images shown were extracted from the videos and remain the property of their respective owner(s).