Taiwan says it’s created a battery-powered exoskeleton suit that can allow its soldiers to run faster and carry heavy objects with ease.
The first-generation suit was engineered by the country’s go-to weapons manufacturer, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, according to The South China Morning Post. The suit is a part of a four year project dubbed the “Taiwan Ironman program,” which a modest budget of $5.74 million and the goal providing Taiwan’s soldiers with a lower-body exoskeleton to enhance their strength and endurance.
“To reduce fatigue of soldiers in carrying heavy facilities… we started developing the powered suit for the military in 2020,” Jen Kuo-kuang, head developer of the project, said in comments at a news conference obtained by the SCMP.
This all comes in the backdrop of rising tensions between Taiwan and mainland China, which still views the island as its territory. Despite official US statements urging peace, China scrambled a number of warplanes into Taiwanese airspace earlier this month.
Earlier this year, China’s People’s Liberation Army also unveiled a similar suit for its soldiers’ use. So yeah, two warring nations with soldiers battling in exoskeletons might actually become a reality — which would honestly be kinda cool, if it wasn’t also darkly apocalyptic.
