SOCOM plans roll out ‘Iron Man’ suit prototypes by 2018

U.S. Special Operations Command is making progress researching, developing and testing a next-generation Iron Man-like suit designed to increase strength and protection and help keep valuable operators alive when they kick down doors and engage in combat, officials said.

The project, formally called Tactical Light Operator Suit, or TALOS, is aimed at providing special operators, such as Navy SEALs and Special Forces, with enhanced mobility and protection technologies, a Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, statement said.

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"The ultimate purpose of the TALOS project is to produce a prototype in 2018. That prototype will then be evaluated for operational impact," Lt. Cmdr. Matt Allen, SOCOM spokesman, told Scout Warrior.

Industry teams have been making steady progress on the technologies since the effort was expanded in 2013 by Adm. William McCraven, former head of SOCOM.

"I'm very committed to this because I would like that last operator we lost to be the last operator we ever lose," McCraven said in 2013.

Defense industry, academic and entrepreneurial participants are currently progressing with the multi-faceted effort.

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 armor, 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 armor called "liquid body armor."

It "transforms from liquid to solid in milliseconds when a magnetic field or electrical current is applied," the Army website said.

TALOS will have a physiological subsystem that lies against the skin that is embedded with sensors to monitor core body temperature, skin temperature, heart rate, body position and hydration levels, an Army statement also said.

"The idea is to help maintain the survivability of operators as they enter that first breach through the door," Allen added.