Tango-Tiger

The myth and reality of the super soldier



Is China trying to make its own version of Captain America? US intelligence has suggested so. But beyond the hype, the possibility of a super soldier is not so outlandish
and one that not just China is interested in.

With deep pockets, and a desire to get an edge, the world's militaries have often driven technological innovation, from the state-of-the-art to the humble.

Take duct tape. It was the result of a suggestion from an Illinois ordnance factory worker, who had sons serving in the navy during World War Two.

Worried about soldiers under fire fumbling with the flimsy paper tape then used to seal ammunition boxes, Vesta Stoudt had a solution - a waterproof, cloth tape.
She was unable to win the support of her supervisors, but was more successful when she wrote to President Roosevelt, who instructed war producers to turn her
idea into reality.

If military necessity can give us better sticky tape, what else might it do?

Announcing a new initiative in 2014, then-President Barack Obama told journalists: "Basically I'm here to announce that we're building Iron Man."

There was laughter, but he was serious: the US military had already begun work on the project - a protective suit, known as the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit.
(Talos). A video game-like promotional video showed the wearer bursting in on an enemy cell, bullets ricocheting off the armour.

Iron Man was not to be. Five years on, the initiative ended, but makers hope individual components of the suit will have applications elsewhere.

Exoskeletons are just one of the promising technologies militaries are exploring to enhance their soldiers.

Enhancement is nothing new - since ancient times, troops have been bolstered by advancements in weaponry, kit and training.

But today, enhancement could mean much more than merely giving an individual soldier a better gun. It could mean altering the individual soldier.

In 2017, Russia's President Vladimir Putin warned that humanity could soon create something "worse than a nuclear bomb".

"One may imagine that a man can create a man with some given characteristics, not only theoretically but also practically. He can be a genius mathematician,
a brilliant musician or a soldier, a man who can fight without fear, compassion, regret or pain."

Last year, the former US Director of National Intelligence (DNI), John Ratcliffe, went further with a blunt accusation against China.

"China has even conducted human testing on members of the People's Liberation Army in hope of developing soldiers with biologically enhanced capabilities.
There are no ethical boundaries to Beijing's pursuit of power," he wrote in the Wall Street Journal.

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