Combat equipment of special forces

Servicemen of the special forces of the Ministry of Defense, the Internal Troops and SOBR of the Special Purpose Center (CSN) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs agreed to tell why the American camouflage of MULTICAM colors is popular in the Russian special forces, how effective are domestic body armor and night vision devices, how they select combat equipment and weapons.

In recent years, the main heroes of television reports and photographs have become fighters of various special forces, carrying out tasks to combat terrorists. On the video and photo chronicles, it is striking that the field uniform, body armor, communication equipment, etc., are different for the special forces, so to speak. In the modern world, the segment of private production of tactical equipment and protective equipment is developing very dynamically. Even such well-funded Western divisions as the American Delta, British SAS and others buy the products they like for their money. Indeed, the success of any operation depends on uniforms, equipment, and even more so weapons. What is the situation with the Russian security officials, what are the problems, what would you like to change?

The armor is strong

“We use 6B23 bulletproof vests. There are also brand new 6B43, but there are very few of them, ”says an officer based in the Moscow region of the Central Service Center of the Ministry of Defense. According to him, most servicemen buy imported products for their own money, mainly covers, which are then hemmed so that domestic armored panels can be supplied. Our colleagues from the internal troops have body armor developed at the beginning of the 90s “Korund” for supply, but now they have begun to supply the modern “Bagariy”. Just like in the Ministry of Defense, foreign body armor, in particular American, is bought in the BB. True, domestic "Defenders" and "Redoubts" are also popular.

Spetsnaz is equipped independently

The employees of the Central Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are protected by various products of the firm "Fort-Technologies" and "Armakom". All interlocutors of the publication agreed that none of the types of body armor meets their requirements. We do not need ordinary body armor, but modular armor protection systems, which are an unloading vest ("unloading") with armor panels and the ability to install the necessary pouches for the tasks being performed. Now such systems have become a mandatory attribute not only of special purpose units, but also of combined arms in many armies of the world.

“We would like to have regular lightweight body armor according to the plate carrier scheme, such as those made by LBT and PIG-tactical. But since they are not there, many buy with their own and install armored panels, ”says the officer of the Ministry of Defense. The same is done in the internal troops. “The Americans have a good attachment system with a set of pouches called MOLLE. Everything is of high quality, the pouches are held securely. Something similar was done on "Bagaria", however, the quality is worse and the pouches are enough for only two or three lessons. But we have only 30-40 percent of such bullet-proof vests, ”the military officer complains.

But the SOBR officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs believes that domestic protective materials are better and the protection classes of body armor are higher than that of foreign products. But he also recognizes the need for modular body armor systems. All interlocutors of the publication are not satisfied with the standard protective helmets. “Like putting a chamber pot on my head. We have to make a special cover for landing, otherwise it can hook the edge of the helmet with slings when opening. Ours do not have mounts for night vision devices, lanterns and similar things, ”says an officer of the Central Service Center of the Ministry of Defense. The regular ZSH-1 is not liked by the internal troops, while the Altyn, Mask and Lynx-T are not liked by the Interior Ministry SOBR officers.

By all accounts, the most optimal version of a protective helmet that supplies special forces around the world was developed by the American company OpScore.

“They are very comfortable, fit well on the head, are combined with glasses, headphones, an oxygen mask, and have a streamlined shape,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense. He is supported by colleagues from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Internal Troops. “ZSH-1 is the last century. We buy for our own money the "SHBM" company "Omnitech-M", similar to the "Opskorovsky". You can easily put on headphones under it. It is comfortable to fit, lightweight. Under the ZSH-1 you need to put on a special hat, and if in the summer, then a bandana, but under the SHBM you don’t need, ”says the officer of the internal troops. At the same time, the Interior Ministry's SOBR uses a product similar to the American OpScore helmet by the Russian company Armakom. “Now we are working with the company to fine-tune their products to our requirements. But this is a long process, not less than a year, ”explains an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Kalashnikov with a foreign stock

“We mainly use AK74M. There used to be a lot of AKMSL, but now they are almost all worn out and written off. There are several AK103s, but the current 5.45 cartridges (PP, BS, etc.) have reduced the advantage of the 7.62 caliber to zero. And the accuracy of small-caliber assault rifles is higher, the ammunition load is greater with an equal weight, ”said an officer of the Ministry of Defense's TSSN. According to his colleague from the internal troops, in addition to the AK74M, there were also AK-104s in the TsSN: “Now they were taken away from us, but we liked them. They are shorter, it is more convenient to manipulate them, throw them on their backs, etc. And the firing range suits us. " There are special forces in service with submachine guns. According to a SOBR officer, his squad chose the SR-2M Veresk. It is lighter, more mobile, and the cartridge is more powerful than that of the proposed Vityaz PP. But in the internal troops and the Ministry of Defense "Vereski" did not take root.

“We handed over our SR-2M right away - we didn’t buy bullets for them. We use PP-2000. They are being handled by "shield guards" (servicemen walking with bulletproof shields). The Vityaz submachine gun was also available, but it was not used in combat. There were technical problems with the constant sticking of cartridges. Yes, and there is no such task where the Vityaz is better than the Kalashnikov, "- says the officer of the Internal Troops. In the TsSN of the Ministry of Defense, the SR-2M is used as the second weapon of a sniper.

But the biggest headache and a source of fixed costs are regular Kalashnikov assault rifles, which are being finalized at their own expense. “We put a butt adjustable in length. Usually these are American "Magpool" or Israeli products. We install a purchased muzzle brake-compensator, which reduces the toss of weapons, and some models also reduce the flash of a shot, which is very important when working with night vision devices. Adapters with Picatinny rails. A fuse box with an additional pedal for easy switching with the middle and / or forefinger, ”the Ministry of Defense special forces officer lists the purchases. The same is done by the servicemen of the TsSN VV and officers of the SOBR.

“A gentleman's kit on every assault rifle is a front grip, reflex sight and an adjustable stock. If the employee is comfortable, then he also adds a pistol grip. We put Picatinny and Weaver adapter strips. "Inkwell" (muzzle brake-compensator. - Author's note) is very necessary, for night work it is indispensable ", - the officer of the special forces of the internal troops is sure.

According to him, from the numerous red dot sights currently offered on the small arms market, the center opted for the products of the American firms Eotech and Aimpoint.

“We put Eotech on machine guns, and Aimpoint on machine guns. I don't like Russian and Belarusian sights. The collimator is good with a threefold magnifier, but it is too expensive, so not everyone has it, ”says an officer of the Interior Troops. In his opinion, the collimator sight should be protected like the apple of an eye: "There are no licensed workshops of these companies in Russia, and it is almost impossible to repair it yourself, especially if the matrix is ​​broken."

An officer of the SOBR Ministry of Internal Affairs explained that in addition to imported parts, his units also buy domestic production of Zenit: “We do not buy everything at our own expense, the Motherland gives us something. I would like TriJicon's ACOG scopes, but they are too expensive, so we opted for Aimpoint products. "

Over the past four years, the ACU (Army Combat Uniform) field uniform, adopted in 2008 for supply by the Pentagon, has become popular with Russian special forces, and differs from the traditional field uniform in a short jacket with a standing collar and slanting chest pockets. Also, the American camouflage color "cartoons" is widely used, which is jokingly called "cartoons" in Russia.

“ACU is more convenient, only pockets are needed with buttons. These are quality products made from good materials, although, of course, there are exceptions. Coloring "cartoons" is well suited for regions where you have to work. And one more thing - when working together with "fesniks" (special forces of the FSB), specialists from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and others, it turns out that everyone is dressed in the same uniform and there are no problems with identifying each other, "says an officer of the Special Forces Center of the Ministry of Defense.

According to his BBC colleague, these troops are now abandoning cartoons in favor of SURPAT, developed by the Russian company Survival Corps. "Cartoon" is worse in the forest, so officers take it for everyday wear, sometimes wear it to classes. Sometimes, we use a regular camouflage field uniform of the internal troops. But the “surpat” in the ACU cut is very comfortable, especially the sewn-in knee pads. They do not overtighten the leg, do not disrupt the blood supply, ”explains the special forces officer.

An employee of the SOBR Ministry of Internal Affairs said that in his division they also prefer the field ACU, which is purchased from British and American manufacturers: “We take the original form of the CRYE company. Our employees buy what is more comfortable for them to wear. We get some of the field uniforms on a regular basis, but we buy most of them at our own expense. " According to him, the use of coloring "cartoons" allows you to quickly identify friendly units involved in the operation. Although this color is not optimal for the North Caucasus.

According to all interlocutors, a big problem is uniform shoes that cannot be worn. And again we have to buy on our own, giving preference to foreign products, and not only for military purposes: sports shoes are also in demand. Recently, the special forces of the Internal Troops and the Ministry of Internal Affairs increasingly like the boots of the domestic firm "Faraday". “It is generally impossible to walk in uniform pieces of wood, and it is also life-threatening. Now Faraday shoes are no worse than imported ones, but much cheaper. If only they took her for supply and gave us out on a regular basis, ”- the officer of the internal troops modestly dreams.

Communications and night vision devices

Night vision devices are a headache for the Russian special forces. When asked if you think the Russian devices are adequate for the tasks set, an officer from the Special Forces Center of the Ministry of Defense replied succinctly: "Are you kidding me?"

According to the officer of the internal troops, his colleagues, whenever possible, prefer to buy imported products, sometimes Belarusian "Filiny". “For snipers, there are good standard Russian“ night lights ”DS-4 and DS-6. But there are few of them in our center. Now we have purchased Russian NVS "Shahin". We immediately said that they are not suitable for us. The same "Cyclone" (manufacturer - NPO "Cyclone") has much better, more reliable and lighter. But the Intelligence Directorate of the Internal Troops considered that they would do well for us, too, ”the special forces soldier of the internal troops is indignant.

Also, all the interlocutors admitted that their divisions acquire at their own expense and active headphones with built-in communication, amplifying weak sounds and extinguishing strong ones. Prefer headphones from Peltor.

“They are not needed everywhere, but only for the task, otherwise the hearing goes down very quickly. For fun, try walking with active headphones along a mountain stream or through a forest in strong winds. But they are good indoors or in fire training, ”explains the Defense Ministry officer.

His colleague from the internal troops believes that active headphones are necessary for operations in the forest: “There they amplify the sound and you can hear the enemy in advance. Although I personally prefer a regular headset. "

Ongoing counter-terrorism activities in Syria require the continued involvement of the military and special forces from all law enforcement agencies. If in the early 90s the quality and quantity of equipment was determined by the capabilities of the department, now even for elite special-purpose centers everything depends on the thickness of the wallets of the servicemen themselves. One might argue that foreign experts also spend their money, because everyone chooses what is more convenient to fight in. But shoes and field uniforms are one thing, and when it comes to bulletproof vests, helmets, communication equipment, "body kits" for weapons, it's worth thinking about.

The international market for weapons and equipment has been at its peak over the past 10–12 years. Russian companies, with rare exceptions, do not participate there, although the military and law enforcement officers have accumulated sufficient combat experience, which can be implemented in new families of body armor, communications equipment, active headphones, etc. At the same time, the latest AEK-971 and AK-12 assault rifles presented for testing without full-fledged collimator sights of domestic production. Although the same Belarus is actively producing these products. It remains only to regret that the foreign special forces are supplied by the departments, and the Russian - their families, donating money from the family budget.

Alexey Mikhailov

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