Group 99 unveils first Russian scalable body armour

The MRS basic protection kit (left) and the upper protection unit with apron (right). (Dmitry Fediushko)

Russia's individual equipment manufacturer Group 99 (Gruppa 99, a subsidiary of the Kalashnikov Group) has designed the first Russian-made modular body armour: the MRS.

The MRS is built on a traditional plate carrier with two inserts for armour plates – front and back – and a corset that redistributes the gear's weight from spine and chest to hips. The core set is reinforced with a two-unit abdominal/groin protection module, a protective collar, shoulder anti-fragmentation covers, upper arm protection sleeves and arm shields. All body components have MOLLE-standard webbing for pouches.

A Group 99 representative on 6 September told Janes that the MRS has entered serial production.

It is designed to be less restrictive of mobility due to the corset and overlapping armour layers. Group 99 said a soldier wearing the system can perform maneuvers such as rollovers and tumblesets.

The baseline variant (Br1/C2 level) has 838 cm² protection against 9 × 18 bullets and 260 cm² protection against small fragments flying at speeds of 630 m/s, and weighs 10.9 kg. With 150 cm² of additional protection against 5.45 × 39/7.62 × 39 steel-core bullets (Br3), the MRS weight increases to 14.2 kg. If the basic layer is reinforced against 7.62 × 39/7.62 × 54 armour-piercing bullets, its weight increases to 20.9 kg.

The NII Stali institute is understood to be providing armour plates for the MRS.