(NECN/CNN) - You know that super-powered suit from the "Iron Man" movies? Science fiction, right? Maybe not!
A company is actually working on a suit that can enable its wearer to fly, shoot rockets and punch through brick walls. This super-suit could do wonders for the next generation of soldiers.
It's got a "Tony Stark is Iron Man" sort of ring to it. Stark runs a defense contracting company, Jameson works for one. But Raytheon's test engineer is no playboy billionaire.
He's married with three kids, but just may be wearing the prototype for future warfighters.
Granted the xos2 is dead weight until it's juiced by outside power. Then the hydraulic fluid starts pumping, steel and aluminum arms make everything lighter.
But here's where "fictional" meets "functional." Iron Man can fly and shoot repulsor rays out of his hands. This suit is still tethered to its power source. Mobile batteries like lithium-ion either don't last long enough or can't be strapped to a soldier's body.
That's important to supply units, where being tethered to a power source wouldn't matter. The suit can keep lifting for hours.
Local
Today's troops are carrying up to 150 pounds in Afghanistan, but if it gets mobile, the suit can make armor and equipment feel 17 times lighter.
