Russian scientists have unveiled a “Superman suit” they claim lets the wearer walk through fire and grenade blasts unscathed.
Vladimir Putin’s military says the suit is made of a heat-resistant “aramid” type material that can withstand half a minute of direct flame contact.
The heatproof suit, part of the country’s Ratnik program is expected to be ready for use by 2020.
Venezuelan President Maduro says US-backed “mercenaries” tried to oust him, a claim the US denies.
Circa 2018
As part of the country’s massive re-arming and military modernization efforts, Russia’s defense apparatus has been quietly developing a next-generation suit that will give its wearers enhanced strength, awareness and combat effectiveness, and has reportedly already tested it in battle.
Created as part of the Ratnik (Russian for warrior) system program, the suit isn’t designed for special operations forces, but rather, general infantry use. That’s right — the average Russian infantryman will step outside the wire wearing game changing battle rattle, likely by 2025.
While similar to the American Land Warrior and Future Combat Systems projects, Ratnik has actually succeeded where the other multi-billion dollar programs have stalled. Up-armoring soldiers and increasing the ergonomic qualities of their gear is only a part of what Ratnik aims to do, however.
Waterbike Hydrofoil Bicycle
Posted in transportation
Specialty subdivisions of BMW and Range Rover offer bulletproof variants of the luxury automakers’ current models, and other aftermarket companies like Brabus and AddArmor go a step further by making donor vehicles damn-near bombproof. But none of those examples look anywhere near as sturdy as the Armortruck SUV.
Circa 2019
When you imagine an exoskeleton, chances are it might look a bit like the Guardian XO from Sarcos Robotics. The XO is literally a robot you wear (or maybe, it wears you). The suit’s powered limbs sense your movements and match their position to yours with little latency to give you effortless superstrength and endurance—lifting 200 pounds will feel like 10.
A vision of robots and humankind working together in harmony. Now, isn’t that nice?
Circa 2013
“Nanotechnology offers unprecedented possibilities for progress—defeating poverty, starvation, and disease, opening up outer space, and expanding human capacities. But it also brings unprecedented risks—the specter of devastating wars fought with far more powerful weapons of mass destruction.” — Chris Phoenix, Director of Research, Center for Responsible Nanotechnology.
Circa 2015 face_with_colon_three
We already have smart guns, but DARPA has taken the next logical step — the defense agency has built smart bullets. The military agency has shown off new footage of its Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance — shortened to EXACTO rounds — that show the smart bullets maneuvering in mid-air to hit moving targets.
DARPA first showed off its EXACTO technology in a video released last year. The clip highlighted the agency’s advanced bullet as it’s fired from a rifle, showing it veering off course half-way through its flight to hit a designated area. This new video, taken during tests earlier this February, shows the rounds compensating for the acceleration of a moving target, deviating from their natural course to slam into their torso-shaped objective.