If you ever watched the Exo Squad cartoon, or loved the alien vs. Sigourney Weaver in huge mech armor fight then you’ll appreciate today’s post.

Lockheed Martin, has developed an exo skeleton set that could greatly impact the duties of US soldiers. LM states the reason behind developing the technology, “Dismounted Soldiers often carry heavy combat loads that increase the stress on the body leading to potential injuries. With a HULC exoskeleton, these loads are transfered to the ground through powered titanium legs without loss of mobility.”

Here are some specs for the exoskeleton suit:

• Range: 1 hour walk at 3 mph per 4 lbs of batteries
• Payload: Can carry up to 200 lbs; can carry front and back loads
• Max Speed: 7 mph for long duration; 10 mph burst speed
• Fits Soldiers between 5’4” and 6’2”
• HULC can be used as the backbone for integrated systems that include armor, heating or cooling systems, sensors and other custom attachments.

The coolest feature the suit has, is the ability to add systems to the suit. I’m thinking dual, shoulder mounted machine guns for those wide spread, and open field battles. But that’s just what I run into on a daily basis.

Here’s a video of the exo skeleton in action. It’s not as sexy as the suits in Exo Squad, or a behemoth as Ripley’s mech but we’re getting there…

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