Pretty soon, you won’t need to be Tony Stark to have your own badass, high-tech suit of armor to use in combat, as the US military’s soon-to-be-unveiled Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS) promises to make soldiers stronger, safer, and more agile on the battlefield.
According to the folks at Digital Trends, the US Department of Defense has announced that the TALOS armor, which will be used by Special Forces operatives and Navy SEALs, will make its debut in 2018. Sadly, while the website calls the suit “one of the most technologically advanced pieces of military equipment ever conceived,” it unfortunately cannot fly. Bummer.
Flying is one of the few capabilities that this liquid armor body suit doesn’t have, however. Back in 2013, the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) teamed up with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to create a “super-solider style suit”, and early blueprints of the project indicated that its features included full-body ballistic protection, temperature controls, oxygen and anti-hemorrhaging fail-safes, 3D audio, and integrated sensors.
The battery powered exoskeleton will be able to solidify on command, according to CNN, and will also help to reduce strain on the soldier’s body. Furthermore, the helmet will be outfitted with visual and communications aids. The cost of the tech is uncertain at this point, but in a 2014 book, former Sen. Tom Coburn cites reports that TALOS will cost an estimated $80 million.
One soldier’s sacrifice inspired better protection
As CNN pointed out, many of the technologies that the suit will utilize already exist, but TALOS team members will have to adapt those systems into the exoskeleton to ensure that the product is maneuverable and works efficiently. The goal, SOCOM head Gen. Joseph Votel told CNN, is to give the suit’s operator “the advantage when he is most vulnerable.”
“This is a program that 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,” he added. “In the wake of that, we asked ourselves, ‘Couldn’t we do better in terms of protecting him, of giving him a better advantage when he’s at the most vulnerable point that we put our operators?’”
Gen. Votel, who took over the TALOS project from former SOCOM commander Adm. William McRaven, said that research on the suit has also been beneficial in other areas. For instance, their work has helped the DOD improve upon lightweight armor and communication technology.
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Feature Image: US Army
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