And So We Went To War...
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia started completely from scratch with their military. The ensuing chaos in former Soviet Satellite states following the collapse forced a rebranding as to not pour fuel on the fire.
Many Russian military operations were slated as "Peacekeeping" and "Policing" rather than the Red Army's old ways. Chechnya was facing a brutal insurgency and attempts to simply police the conflict failed.
And so, a young Russian Federation would be catapulted into one of the ugliest urban conflicts in modern history.
In Need of the Defender
Russian troops marched into Chechnya in 1994 wearing outdated, cumbersome Flak-Vest of Soviet-era Past. They contained steel or titanium inserts designed decades before - never intended for the unconventional warfare they now faced.
The 1st Chechen war was brutal. Close quarters, street-to-street, door-by-door warfare. They fought with RPGs, grenades, and ducked through heavy machine gun fire that rained down from every direction.
The result wasn't pretty for either side. Catastrophic casualties. Infantry and special forces units found themselves vulnerable to far more fragmentation and small arms fire than their old equipment could handle.
By the end of the war in 1996, the Russian Security services, especially the FSB's Alpha and Vympel units got the message: there was a dire and immediate need for armor that offered better coverage, durability, and modularity for the high tempo & high intensity combat of the future.
The Defender Family: A Rough Timeline
(Swipe to read)
1996
The SHTURM-STT
This is usually considered the early prototype to the Defender series.
It was a bulky vest that offered massive protection at the cost of being heavy and a bit unwieldy. But it showed promise, so FORT refined it into the 2000s
2000
The Defender 1
The first proper entry to the Defender series. Slick, simple, and it even had a comfortable elastic cummerbund for extra mobility and adjustment.
It became one of the very first armor systems to be widely adopted by the FSB, and it came in every color, as long as it was black.
2002
The Defender 2
Developed between 1999 and 2001, the Defender 2 offered full-torso protection including a detachable armored collar and a groin protector.
It's kevlar inserts were GOST 2 (pistol rounds and fragmentation) and it's up-armoring plates were ceramic or steel GOST 5 (7.62 rifle rounds) at a distance of only 5 meters.
2004
The King Of Counter-Terror
The modularity of both the armor and later the PALS webbing versions made it ideal for close quarters counter-terror campaigns Russia would embark on in the early 2000s.
The most popular variant would be the slick -style carriers with elastic sides. In footage of the Beslan School Siege in '04, you can see them being worn in a custom-run camo.
Mid 2000s
Your Best PALS
FORT began adding various improvements as the 2000s went on, especially after the Beslan School Siege taught more lessons to Russian Special Forces.
Stronger Cordura fabric, better plate pockets, and PALS webbing added to the modularity that operators wanted, and spurred on custom orders from the FSB.
Late 2000s - Early 2010s
The "Emerald"
Named for it's distinctive color it became iconic as a rare but definitive evolution of the Defender 2.
It featured full-body PALS webbing with a unique diagonal pattern in the upper chest for more attachments.
New buckles and secure velcro-closures made it easy to adjust, and more plate configurations made it even more adaptable.
Today
Our Reproduction
For being the final form of the defender 2 and its iconic role on FSB Alpha and Vympel Units, we chose it to be the one to remake. Old-style Defenders that are available just don't cut it in terms of quality, and we wanted to make it in OD Green.
Ours comes complete with that iconic diagonal PALS layout and matching magazine/GP pouches included.
Claims To Fame
Good guys? Bad Guys? Shady Mercs & Hardened Veterans? It's been on them all much like the Gorka Suit & SMERSH Harness.
Featured all across video games like Rainbow Six, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Escape from Tarkov, and more, It's perhaps one of the most essential pieces of Redfor kit that gained a cult following online by countless gamers.
It's a must-have item among collectors and Airsofters alike. It's silhouette, instantly recognizable.
A New "Curtain"
The lingering wounds of the Soviet Union's split have resulted in numerous conflicts to arise in countries formerly part of the USSR.
Would they remain loyal to Russia, Try to join NATO? Or maybe even try to fend for themselves?
Ukraine has been one of the primary "battlegrounds" for this kind of conflict, and the fuse was finally lit in February 2022 with Russia's Invasion of the Donbas region.
As soon as that begun, exporting goods from Russia went from somewhat difficult to borderline impossible, as we ourselves learned when moving our Gorka suits out of the country.
With outrageous tariffs, export bans, COVID lockdowns, and a slew of sanctions, Russian kit as we know it in the west became a highly endangered species.
To make matters worse, the Russians frequently raided their reserves of old kit to keep the fight going, meaning "Surplus" all but disappeared.
Sure — a few here and there made it out of Russia, and maybe even got stateside. We won't pretend like they're all gone. But if you want one, you either have to get extremely lucky, buy a cheap Chinese clone, or shell out quite the stack of cash for the real mccoy.
Much like our other historical reproductions in the past, we didn't want these items to go extinct.
So we got to work cloning it as closely as we could, and making sure we didn't pick a country of manufacture that'd end up getting sanctioned.
And Yet, The Icon Endures
Despite its decades-long service and dwindling surplus, the Defender 2 hasn't gone anywhere on the battlefield. You can still spot them in the Russo-Ukrainian War, proof of how long these vests lasted in Russian stockpiles, and how often said stockpiles are raided.
It remains one of the most iconic and truly battle-tested armor designs ever produced in Russia, even with the explosive popularity of western-style plate carriers in recent years.
The Defender 2 sees war, and it adapts. From the unbridled chaos of Grozny to the "emerald" today it did, no, does things the Russian way, and maybe that's not so bad.
Our Defender 2 "Emerald"
We took the once-unobtainium "emerald" vest and brought it back from obscurity, and made it match our SMERSH/Jaeger Rigs.
Learn more about its specs and features and order yours now below...
The 'Strelka' Connection
Our Russian-Inspired gear collection for all the slavs-at-heart