Russia to develop 'Future Soldier' with Exoskeleton, Robotics, Drones

Moscow – Russia is rapidly working on the ‘Future Soldier’ program equipped with Exoskeleton armour, robotics, mini-micro drones and highly advanced weapons. Senior Russian military officials claimed that this would enhance the combat skills of the soldiers. A Russian official underlined the importance of the program, saying that the program has not stopped, even for a minute, in the last two years.

Over the past decade, Russia has made significant efforts to develop advanced defence equipment and technology. Russia has implemented a program called Ratnik to prepare its troops for future wars. Leading Russian companies like Rostec are producing defence equipment under this program.

The Central Scientific Research Institute for Precision Machine Engineering- TsNIITochMash, Rostec’s subsidiary, produces exoskeletons and robotics under the Ratnik program. General Oleg Salyukov, Chief of the Russian Ground Forces, gave this information while talking to the local newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda. General Oleg said that the production of mini and micro drones is also underway.

General Oleg said the Ratnik program has undergone consistent amendments over the past few years, making efforts to make future Russian troops more empowered. For this, the advanced AK-74 assault rifle currently used by the Russian soldiers will replace the Kalashnikov company’s AK-12, a super-advanced rifle. This rifle can fire 600 to 650 bullets in one minute. In addition, thermal and night-vision helmets and state-of-the-art communication systems are being developed for the Russian soldiers.

Russia has so far provided about 300,000 Ratnik exoskeleton to its soldiers. The highlight of the product is to assist the Russian soldiers in hitting the target accurately and making ease the load while walking great distances and crossing the mountainous terrains. Soldiers wearing exoskeletons will be quicker and more powerful than ordinary soldiers, claimed the Russian military officials.

Earlier, it has been exposed that the United States, the United Kingdom and China were also researching the exoskeleton armour and robotics soldiers. A few months ago, a Chinese mouthpiece released a video of a Chinese soldier wearing an exoskeleton and crossing a mountain in Tibet.