'Iron Man' Suit to Fall Short of its Goals.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: BEST OF THE WEB

After six years of work, Special Operations Command's goal to develop an "Iron Man suit" to protect commandos during raids has fallen short and won't be fielded as envisioned, SOCOM's senior acquisition official said Feb. 6.

The idea for the tactical assault light operator suit (TALOS) sprung from former SOCOM Commander Adm. William McRaven, who announced the campaign at the 2013 National Defense Industrial Association's Special Operations Forces Industry Conference. He wanted more protection for the first special operator to go through a door during raids. The "Iron Man" suit--as it was more popularly known--would protect against bullets and blasts and have enough power for it to operate untethered.

McRaven set August 2018 as the deadline for the first working prototype and received $80 million for the first four years of development. The command last year announced that the first working prototype would be delivered a year late.

SOCOM Acquisition Executive James Smith at this year's SO/LIC conference in...