SOCOM Lists Iron Man Suit Collaborators

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Raytheon ExoskeletonThe U.S. military listed off the companies its working with thus far to develop a tactical suit for special operators that is often compared to the suit worn in the Hollywood film Iron Man.

Many of the companies listed on the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS) are the usual defense regulars like Boeing, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. There a few other athletic wear companies like Nike and Under Armour. And then there are a few outliers that have left some in the industry scratching their heads like National Public Radio and Red Bull Air Force.

Military leaders to include Adm. William McRaven, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, have touted the suit as a next generation capability that will change how Special Forces operate. Leaders like McRaven want it to provide troops super human strength, the ability to see through walls and a bulletproof skin, among other capabilities.

“That suit, if done correctly, will yield a revolutionary improvement in survivability and capability for special operators,” McRaven said in February.

Work has started on the suit. SOCOM officials hope to have prototypes by this June and start outfitting special operators by 2018.

Thus far, about 56 defense companies, 16 government agencies, 13 universities and 10 national laboratories are working on the program. Until the release of SOCOM's new website dedicated to the program. Those companies haven't been listed. Below is a list of those companies:



  • Adidas



  • ADS



  • AEgis Technologies



  • Agis



  • Allen Vanguard



  • Altamira



  • Anderson Consulting



  • Anthro Tronix



  • Avegant



  • Azure Summit Technologies



  • B-temia



  • Blackbird Technologies



  • Boeing



  • CMI



  • CWS



  • David Clark



  • Deep Springs Technology



  • Design Interactive



  • Draper Laboratory



  • Ekso Bionics



  • EMC2



  • Global Satellite Engineering



  • Helios Design Labs



  • Honeywell



  • Invisio



  • IST



  • Legacy Effects



  • Linear Labs



  • Lockheed Martin



  • Mawashi



  • Miltech



  • National Public Radio (NPR)



  • Nike



  • Oceanic Safety Systems



  • Physical Operator Corporation



  • Protonex



  • Raytheon



  • Red Bull Air Force



  • Revision



  • RINI Technologies



  • Robotics Technology Consortium



  • Rockwell Collins



  • Sage Cheshire



  • Select Engineering Services (SES)



  • Sierra Nevada Corp.



  • Tampa Energy Solutions



  • Tandel Systems



  • Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc.



  • Thales



  • Transformair



  • Under Armor



  • Vodik Labs



  • Warwick Mills



  • Wilcox



  • Wyle


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