A Russian juggernaut unit during Operation Armor Piercing.
Colloquially known as juggernauts, these heavily armored soldiers served in various wars during the 20th and 21st centuries. They are specially trained heavy weapons operators that wear extremely heavy and durable modified EOD suits.
History[]
Cold War[]
A Juggernaut at the Vorkuta gulag.
Early[]
During the 1960s, Soviet soldiers wearing riot gear onboard Soviet Navy ships and at certain gulags were called "juggernauts" by embedded NATO agents for their ability to absorb multiple bullets and keep fighting at peak performance.
During the Vorkuta uprising on 6 October 1963, escapees Viktor Reznov and Alex Mason encountered several of these units as they attempted to breach a locked door in the Vorkuta armory as part of Step 6 of their eight-step plan. These soldiers were killed by Mason as he defended Reznov, having exploited a weakness in the side of their torso.
Eight years later, on 26 February 1968, Mason and his handler Jason Hudson encountered more armored juggernauts on board the Rusalka, though they were killed utilizing the same weakness Mason discovered in the Vorkuta uprising.
Late[]
In the 1980s, the Soviets developed an updated variant of the juggernaut unit, this time wearing specially made heavy armor that resisted most small-arms fire; however, the weight significantly slowed down the units, making them only useful in covert operations and as guards. On 27 February 1981, CIA agents Frank Woods and Bell infiltrated the Zakarpatska Training Facility in Zakarpatska Oblast in the Ukrainian SSR, encountering these newer juggernauts when they were detected by Spetsnaz training inside the facility. However, their helmets were quite easy to shoot off, which left them exposed to headshots.
On 9 March 1981, during the infiltration of the Lubyanka in Moscow, CIA agents Bell and Russell Adler, as well as deep cover operative Dimitri Belikov, encountered several juggernauts during their exfiltration with deceased Major General Nikita Dragovich's sleeper agent lists.
Six days later, a juggernaut serving Perseus was killed by Bell at the Solovetsky Islands during the operation to stop the detonation of the Operation Greenlight nukes. More juggernauts were deployed in Verdansk and in several covert operations across the globe.
Later use[]
World War III[]
In the mid 2010s, juggernaut suits were still heavily used by multiple standing armies, private military companies, terrorist organizations, and militias. The Brazilian Militia obtained ten suits, using them against a TF141 explosives expert; the ten juggernauts were all killed in the fight. During World War III, juggernauts were deployed in the Russian invasion of the United States, including the Battle of Washington DC and Battle of New York City; juggernauts were also used in the defense of an oil rig off the coast of Petropavlovsk. Inner Circle terrorists also utilized these suits in defense of a hideout in the Caucasus.
As the war continued on, Juggernaut suits were used across various theaters of the war: from battles in war-torn Europe to skirmishes across Asia to genocidal wars in Africa.
Al-Qatala war[]
Juggernauts were sparingly used by General Roman Barkov's rogue Russian Army contingent in Syria and Georgia. During the off-the-books assault on Barkov's chemical factory, one fought CIA agent Alex Keller and FSA commander Farah Karim in a lengthy battle, though he was eventually killed by Alex's anti-materiel rifle.
Viktor Zakhaev later sold hundreds of juggernaut suits to al-Qatala, a Syria-based terrorist cell that invaded Verdansk, Georgia in March 2020. In 2022, juggernaut units were used by AQ and Shadow Company outfits in Al Mazrah, Abkhazia and Ashika Island off the coast of Japan.