Carried 35kg for hours & barely tired’: New PHOTOS of Russian military exoskeleton

randomradio

Senior Member
Nov 30, 2017
20,386
15,295
India
‘Carried 35kg for hours & barely tired’: New PHOTOS of Russian military exoskeleton

5c4ad17cdda4c8052f8b45bf.jpg

© Sputnik / Ilya Pitalev

Russian media has released fresh photos of an advanced military exoskeleton, designed to help soldiers carry heavy mortars and fire 700 machine gun rounds without reloading. The devices have already been used in Syria.

The images of the device were published earlier this week by RIA Novosti news agency. The equipment is designed for army engineers and sappers but may be used by other troops as well.

The exoskeleton helps soldiers to carry heavy objects as it protects their joints and spine, effectively absorbing most of the weight, the designers say.

5c4af159fc7e93b9298b4568.jpg

© Sputnik / Ilya Pitalev

After field testing, the exoskeleton was used by Russian army engineers in Syria, Sergei Smaglyuk, head of Moscow-based ‘GB Inzhiniring’, the company which designed the device together with TsNIITochMash, told RIA Novosti.

“One officer, who had the exoskeleton on, carried a 35-kilogramm portable control panel for the Uran-6 mine-clearing robot for nine hours and was barely tired.”

Made out of light metals and carbon fiber, the exoskeleton itself weighs about 7kg. It enables a wearer to carry up to 70kg (155 lbs) on a special platform attached to their shoulders. The company notes that it will allow a person to transport heavy weapons, like automatic grenade launchers or mortars with 12 shells.

A modification for special ops is equipped with a backpack and a loading device which can allow a machine gunner to fire 700 rounds without reloading.

5c4af23bfc7e93e72b8b4567.jpg

© Sputnik / Ilya Pitalev

The exoskeleton can be also helpful while evacuating the wounded and can assist troops during long-distance speed marches. It looks cumbersome, but is actually easy to use and provides “full movability,” Smaglyuk said.

One “can bend over, turn around, walk fast and even run” in it, he told the media.

“It gets adjusted to the height once, and doesn’t require [any more] maintenance and tweaking… It’s fool-proof.”

The Russian Engineer Troops are expected to start receiving the exoskeletons en masse this year.