The US Army has been searching for innovative scientists to create a prototype design to build next-generation combat armour for the soldiers. They are calling it the iron man suit. In an announcement in December, they welcomed people from all industries if they were interested in developing a special super suit for the military.
The submission requirements are an operable exoskeleton that does not hinder human range of motion and operating machinery. 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.
The idea has been going on since 2013 and is extended each year. Just last year, it was revealed that the Army is testing a futuristic exoskeleton that can empower the wearer. Initial tests show that the exoskeleton has increased productivity from 2 to 27 times but no announcement has been made regarding the timing of when these suits will be rolled out.
“We sometimes refer to it as the Iron Man suit, frankly to attract the attention, imagination and excitement of industry and academia,” said Michel Fieldson, a former TALOS lead, in a 2013 statement.
“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,” Another SOCOM statement said that the potential technologies planned for TALOS research and development include advanced armour, power generators, command and control computers, and enhanced mobility exoskeletons.
Scientists at MIT are also developing a next generation kind of armour which they call the liquid body armour. The Army website said, It “transforms from liquid to solid in milliseconds when a magnetic field or electrical current is applied,”
The suit will have sensors or nerves that lie against the skin that will be continuously scanning the vitals of the body. Professor Gareth McKinley has been working on the liquid armour for the past 11 years. All his research is based on how liquids can be elastic or solid in certain conditions.
Once the suit is complete, it will have the ability to convert from a solid into a liquid in a fraction of a second under the influence of a magnetic field or electric current. The suit will also be monitoring the soldier and will respond to the data supplied by an onboard computer hooked up to sensors in order to keep the soldier in the best possible conditions on the battlefield.
“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,” said McKinley.
The professor said that the name of the suit Talos has been chosen on purpose as it is the name of the bronze-armoured giant fro, 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!”
Even though the iron man suit has not made their way to the soldiers yet, it will be quite a sight when it does. It will completely change warfare.