The war in Ukraine has brought into question decades of military doctrine and spending as Western countries invested in Middle Eastern, asymmetrical combat are faced with the realities of peer-to-peer conflict in Europe. The Ricshield was inspired by the re-emergence of close quarters urban and rural trench fighting and the subsequent lack of modern military equipment built to defend soldiers in these situations. Whilst statistical data on the Russo-Ukraine conflict is limited, research suggested shell fragments and bullet wounds as the leading cause of death. Historically, in military settings, penetrating head injuries carry a mortality rate exceeding 90%; as a result, the shield is designed to protect the unarmored gap between a soldier's helmet and chest plate.

Transparent ballistic materials traditionally require significant thicknesses to prevent penetration, however, are necessary to maintain a soldier's situational awareness. Rather than absorbing the full impact of a projectile, the Ricshield uses an angled composite plate designed to deform projectiles (7.62 x 39mm FMJ) and cause them to ricochet around an infantryman, significantly reducing necessary weight. Replacement of damaged plates extends the design's service life and, whilst developed for use on standard NATO picatinny rails, a custom mount also allows for adaptation to AK-variants.