The U.S. Department of Defense is on track to complete the Tactical Light Operator Suit, more popularly referred to as TALOS, by 2018. It is an Ironman-like suit that allows its wearer to have significantly increased strength and speed, and it also provides safety, critical in the battlefield.
TALOS is an offshoot of a partnership between the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which began in 2013. The goal is to develop a futuristic, super-soldier suit for Special Forces and Navy Seals operatives, according to Fox News. Watch an early prototype being demonstrated in the video below.
"This is a program we started after we lost an operator on a mission. The first guy coming into a particular building was engaged and unfortunately was mortally wounded," Gen. Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. Special Operations Command, said in a CNN report.
Unlike the Ironman suit immortalized in the Marvel Ironman franchise, TALOS will not enable its wearer to fly. However, it is equipped with a unique shield technology that is absent in the superhero's suit. TALOS will be made with a liquid body armor material that is purported to solidify on command, transitioning from liquid to solid at the blink of an eye, Digital Trends reported. It is also equipped with serious technology such as full-body ballistic protection, sensors and computers as well as oxygen and hemorrhage controls, among others.
