U.S. Scientists are working on next-generation combat wear for soldiers inspired by the nano suit worn in the Iron Man films – and say it could be just two years away.
The Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (Talos) would effectively give its wearer superpowers, such as the ability to see in the dark, super-human strength and a way of deflecting bullets.
It is aimed at providing Navy SEALs and Special Forces with enhanced mobility and protection technologies – and will be tested in 2018.
‘The ultimate purpose of the TALOS project is to produce a prototype in 2018,’ Lt. Cmdr. Matt Allen, SOCOM spokesman, told Scout Warrior.
‘That prototype will then be evaluated for operational impact,’
The technologies currently being developed include body suit-type exoskeletons, strength and power-increasing systems and additional protection.
A SOCOM statement said some of the potential technologies planned for TALOS research and development include advanced armour, command and control computers, power generators, and enhanced mobility exoskeletons.
Also, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing a next-generation kind of armour called ‘liquid body armour.’
It ‘transforms from liquid to solid in milliseconds when a magnetic field or electrical current is applied,’ the Army website said.
It will also have ‘nerves’ in the form of sensors that lie against the skin to monitor core body temperature, skin temperature, heart rate, body position and hydration levels..
The basis of the suit is believed to be built upon work done by an MIT professor who is developing ‘liquid armour’.
Professor Gareth McKinley has been working on his ‘liquid armour’ technology for 11 years, which is focused on the flow of unusual materials, according to the University.
His team’s research is based on his understanding of how liquids can be elastic or solid in certain situations.
Once fully developed, the armour could transform from a more liquid form to a solid in a fraction of a second under the influence of a magnetic field or electric current as well as being able to monitor a soldier’s heart rate, hydration levels and core temperature, Dvice reported.
It is thought a suit would respond to the data, supplied by an on-board computer hooked up to sensors, to keep a soldier in the best conditions for battle.
Professor McKinley told NPR that the suit sounds like Iron Man.
‘The other kind of things that you see in the movies I think that would be more realistic at the moment would be the kind of external suit that Sigourney Weaver wears in Alien, where it’s a large robot that amplifies the motions and lifting capability of a human,’ he said.
The request for super body armour for troops was announced following the death of a soldier in Afghanistan.
He was reportedly trying to rescue a civilian but was shot from the other side of a door – but he might have survived if he had have been better protected by his clothing.
Ussocom has asked academics, entrepreneurs and private laboratories to submit white papers detailing how its Talos suit could be built and how they could help make their designs a reality, while other reports suggest that Google Glass could be utilised to provide soldiers with information on the battle field.
Exoskelteons to give people super humans strength and night vision already exist, but the challenge is building the technology into a lightweight suit.
Professor McKinley said the name of the suit – Talos – has been chosen deliberately as it is the names of the bronze armoured giant from Jason and the Argonauts.
He said: ‘Like all good superheros, Talos has one weakness.
‘For the Army’s Talos, the weak spot is either the need to carry around a heavy pump for an hydraulic system, or lots of heavy batteries.
‘We don’t have Iron Man’s power source yet!’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3898700/US-Army-test-radical-Iron-Man-bullet-proof-liquid-armour-gives-soldiers-super-human-strength.html#ixzz4OtYEPXOK
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Bull Shit is all I have to say.
They’ve had “liquid body armor,” and related concepts such as “shear-thickening fluid” armor, on the drawing board for well over a decade. I have yet to hear about any significant results from such efforts. A liquid or soft armor that hardens quickly and robustly enough to stop a rifle bullet? Good luck with that.
The same goes for a lot of the other Rube Goldberg tech they’re talking about. It reminds me of past projects like Land Warrior. So much for “Keep It Simple, Stupid.”
Even if some of it actually works and is useful, it won’t amount to a hill of beans against a real foe. Infantry in general would be obsolete in any fight between the US and a country like Russia or China. Such a war would be fought by naval and air forces, not soldiers on the ground.
Besides, I thought US special forces were supposed to be super-tough, brave, and above all, highly skilled? If that’s the case, then WHY do they need all this fancy technology to fight against a bunch of illiterate farmers and goatherders armed with decades-old rifles and fertilizer? Sounds like chickenshit to me.
What other gear will the pampered sissies cry for when even this “Iron Man” garbage fails to make them invulnerable? Maybe the suit should also come with a set of artificial balls to pump testosterone into the wearer.
These paedos wearing this crap trying to lure kids into joining their gang look gayer than a bag of dicks sprinkled with glitter and AIDS. They have no limits, do they?
The video that is on the daily mail site is priceless. Their target audience must be 10-14yrs old.
lol. You nailed it.
BRRRRRR……. IM SHAKIN IN ME DRAWERS……………..
500lb+ of kinetic energy is still going to break bones.
And someone taking a 600-grain shotgun slug to the helmet isn’t likely to get up quickly, if ever. No penetration required.
If funds allow it, a Serbu .50 BMG carbine and some AP ammo from 50BMGsupply.com would be even better.
This all supposes that this “Iron Man” thing will ever be achieved in the first place. I have my doubts.
Near as I can tell from this article, whatever it is isn’t even off the drawing board yet.
I mean, they’re talking about Sigourney Weaver and the dock loader she used in the movie Aliens and not bothering to realize that it was a complete work of fiction and Hollowood isn’t real.
Seriously, if that kind of thing really existed from back in the ’80’s, it would have been weaponized a long time ago and there would be tens of thousands of them in use already.
Whatever prototype they eventually come up with will more than likely be completely non-functional. Sorta like the F-35.
Billions of dollars and the f–king thing still don’t work.
Why do they always have to name things after Greek gods? Can’t they just come up with something by themselves? Sheesh. They can’t even create an original for the suit, let alone the suit itself.
Metal foam > armor / radiation barrier
B.L.P. > energy source
Magic Leap / Holo Lens > heads up AR
Laser Rifle > powered by fiber lasers with Mw class BLP generator