The Very Real Future of Iron Man Suits for the Navy

One day, troops will strap on bulletproof Iron Man suits and fly into battle, but only after a breakthrough in portable power storage that may not arrive for another decade. In the meantime, exoskeletons do have real military potential today, if only the Pentagon can shed some of its comic-book inspired notions and deploy them where they can do the most good — on ships. That’s according to a new report from the Center for New American Security.

If you’ve played the most recent edition of the popular Call of Duty videogame, recently watched “Edge of Tomorrow” or any of the “Iron Man” movies, your perception of military exoskeletons probably consists of something that a soldier brings with him or her into battle. This image isn’t completely fictional. The Army’s Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit program, TALOS, aims to outfit soldiers heading into combat with wearable exosuits before 2018.

The military doesn’t mind playing up the super hero angle in the media it releases on these programs. In the following video, a cartoon soldier wearing TALOS gear barges through a door and then confronts a shower of bullets without taking a step back.

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