It’s something out of a Marvel movie.
The British Royal Navy has tested “jet suits” to fly over water and land safely on moving sea vessels (watch above).
The see-it-to-believe-it technology was developed by Gravity Industries – a company that claims to “make human flight a reality.”
The company said it spent three days with British commandos off the south coast of the UK. The suits allow soldiers to board a ship without “fast-roping” from a helicopter.
Maritime boarding operations, also known as “visit, board, search, and seizure” operations, are challenging and have traditionally involved troops coming alongside a ship in a fast boat and hooking a caving ladder or fast-roping from a helicopter onto the ship.
A former US Special Forces officer previously told Insider that “VBSS is one of the most complex and dangerous” of maritime-operations missions. He said it often required special equipment and training to execute effectively.
Gravity Industries’ collaboration with the British Navy is a trial. The British military has not committed to purchasing the technology.
The inventor of the jet suit – Gravity Industries founder Richard Browning – holds the Guinness World Record for “fastest speed in a body-controlled jet engine powered suit.” He traveled over 85 miles per hour at a demonstration in 2019.