The Gear of Team Bogatyr

Those of you who have been following the story of Three-Line Rifle may be wondering what kind of equipment they use. I'd love to go into detail about it (especially since in the latest installment of Three-Line Rifle they've deployed to their mission and things are going to get shooty soon), but going all gun-nerd about it would bring the story to a screeching halt and I don't want to do that.

On the other hand, I am a gun nerd and like talking about things like this, so here's a non-immersion breaking blog post about it that I suppose I could add to the story as an appendix or something.


Insignia
The symbol of Team Bogatyr is the yerihonka, the helmet of the Russian knights who were also known as bogatyrs. Therefore, calling themselves "Team Bogatyr" carries the same connotations as a western team calling themselves "Team White Knight" or "Team Dragonslayer".

The yerihonka is the onion-y looking helmet on the right. Yes, it manages to look somewhat Viking and somewhat Turkish at the same time. Some yerihonka extend further downward to protect the nose and/or the nape of the neck.

(If you want to get into deep nerdery regarding Russian medieval armor, this page is an amazing place to start.)

The patch for Team Bogatyr is a silver yerihonka on a black background.


Uniform
Their standard field uniform is a black ripstop blouse and trousers with riot armor covering their arms from shoulders to wrists, and their legs from knees to feet. Their helmets have visors to protect them from things like infectious blood spatter and sprayed toxins. A plate carrier covers their chest and abdomen.

Armor
All front-line combatants wear Level 4 body armor inserts (rated to stop six 7.62×51mm NATO rifle shots or a single 7.8mm AP round). Support personnel like the Professor, Irka, or snipers Bronia and Grisha when shooting from a blind can wear Level 3A soft body armor, which will stop knives (both slashing and stabbing attacks) as well as .44 Magnum rounds.

Weapons

Unlike their American counterparts, Bogatyrs have standardized weapons that they take from the team armory as mission parameters dictate.

Sidearm: All Bogatyrs, even the support personnel, carry 9mm GSh-18 pistols with a minimum of three magazines.

Submachine gun: The PP-19 Bizon is the team's preferred choice for close-in fighting. It is based on the Kalashnikov platform and each helical magazine holds 64 rounds of 9x18mm Makarov.

Battle Rifle: Various AK-74 pattern rifles are used by the team. For urban work, they use the AKS-74U; for more open areas, the AK-74M with universal upgrade is chosen. In either case, 60-round casket magazines of 5.45x39mm are used.

Sniper Rifle: Grisha's main rifle is a Dragunov SVD and he is quite adept at using it in the role of designated marksman. However, when he has the time to set up a sniper's nest, he prefers the 12.7mm (.50 cal) KSVK anti-materiel rifle.

Bronia's M91-30 Mosin Nagant is categorically non-standard, and would not be allowed were it not for the fact that Grandmother Rifle is obviously magical and that it shares the same 7.62x54mmR ammunition as the SVD.

Shotgun: The Saiga-12, another Kalashnikov pattern firearm, has been modified for select fire and is the weapon of choice for those Bogatyrs whose job is to be the first through a door. 30-round drums serve as primary magazines, with 10-round box magazines carried on-body. In situations where a high volume of fire is needed or resupply is limited, a backpack capable of carrying several hundred rounds uses an electric motor to force aluminum-hulled shells down a linkless feed system into the magazine well. The feed can be easily removed and replaced with a magazine in the backpack runs out of ammunition, the system malfunctions, or the Bogatyr needs to un-encumber himself. 

It's a lot like this, only with 12 gauge shells and no disintegrating links.


Vehicles
Team Bogatyr's transport, lovingly (?) called The Crotch, is a 6x6 KamAZ-63968 Typhoon-K MRAP vehicle.

It has room for three people in the cab and 16 in the troop compartment. The engine compartment is between the first and second set of wheels, and there is a passage that connects the cab to the troops.

The top picture is from the inside of a 16-person Typhoon-K. The one on the bottom is from a different model but demonstrates the door between compartments. The Bogatyrs ripped out one of the seats, installed a door, and made the other seat at the back into a computer & communication system.

It has a drop-down ramp in back and six roof hatches (three per side). It is sealed against nuclear, biological and chemical hazards. (Supernatural hazards are a different matter.)

It is 29.5 feet long, weighs 23 tons, has a top speed of 65 mph and a range of 746 miles. Its tires are run-flat.

Team Bogatyr may, or may not, have a heavy weapon that can be mounted on the crotch for heavy engagements. If so, it is not mounted for this mission.