At the recent ARMY-2017 Exhibition in Moscow, Russia,(http://www.rusarmyexpo.com/), an armored suit concept was unveiled. Several features stand out as quite unusual:
First, the armored components appear to be semi-load bearing. From visual appearance, the chest and joint armor looks to be made of hexagonal and triangular carbide ceramics. The construction would also indicate field or depot-level reparability, as there is no overlayer. The potential drawback of this system is much higher vulnerability to incidental damage. This concept differs from the current protocol of carrying hard plates in fabric suspension systems.
Second, the construction of the joint armor takes a lot of cues from late medieval designs, and does not appear to hinder movement greatly.
The design appears well thought out, with minimal shot traps and weak points. The overlap of the chest plastron is correct, as most projectiles will impact at a downward arc.
The passive exoskeleton looks to be durable and functional. When power density and heat dissipation issues are solved in the next decade, this system should prove easy to upgrade to a powered exoskeleton.
The armor is puported to withstand “10 rounds of various calibers.” Based on the predicted material/design elements, this system should be capable of providing level IV multi-hit coverage under the rigid components, and level II-IIIA/Frag over the remaining areas.
It is predicted to be fielded within 15 to 20 years.
d-rmor gear 