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A concept of a powered exoskeleton designed for the Future Soldier 2030 Initiative.^[1]

A super soldier (or supersoldier) is a concept soldier capable of operating beyond normal human abilities through technological augmentation, ranging from powered exoskeletons to advanced training regimens or (in fictional depictions) genetic modification or cybernetic augmentation.

Fiction

Super soldiers are common in military science fiction literature, films, and video games. Examples include Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein and The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Super soldiers are also prevalent in the science fiction universe of Warhammer 40,000 and its prequel The Horus Heresy. Critic Mike Ryder has argued that the super soldiers depicted in these worlds serve as a mirror to present-day issues around sovereignty, military ethics and the law.^[2] Marvel Comics, and by extension the Marvel Cinematic Universe, feature a wide array of heroes and villains whose powers are obtained through various competing attempts to create a super soldier, including Captain America, Hulk, the German Red Skull, and the Russian Red Guardian.^[3]

Fictional super soldiers are usually heavily augmented, either through surgical means, eugenics, genetic engineering, cybernetic implants, drugs, brainwashing, traumatic events, an extreme training regimen or other scientific and pseudoscientific means. A few stories also use paranormal methods or technology, and science of extraterrestrial origin. The fictional masterminds of such programs are depicted often as mad scientists or stern military personnel depending on the needs of the plot, in stories that typically explore the ethical boundaries of the pursuit of science and victory. Some depictions can be categorized as cyborgs or cybernetic organisms due to the cybernetic nature of their augmentations.^[4]

China

In 2022, the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences reported that a team of military scientists inserted a gene from the tardigrade into human embryonic stem cells in an experiment with the stated possibility of creating soldiers resistant to acute radiation syndrome who could survive nuclear fallout.^[5]

U.S. Army

In the book The Men Who Stare at Goats (2004), Welsh journalist Jon Ronson documented how the U.S. military repeatedly tried and failed to train soldiers in the use of parascientific and pseudoscientific combat techniques during the Cold War,^[6] experimenting with New Age tactics and psychic phenomena such as remote viewing, astral projection, "death touch" and mind reading against various Soviet targets. The book also inspired a war comedy of the same name (2009) directed by Grant Heslov, starring George Clooney.^[7]

Fictional examples

The following are the known fictional super soldiers:

Agent 47 from the Hitman franchise
Agent Smith from The Matrix franchise
Bloodshot from Valiant Comics
Bane, Captain Atom, Deathstroke, KGBeast, Major Force, and Ravager from DC Comics
Captain America, Deadpool, Deathlok, Nuke, Sabretooth, U.S. Agent, Winter Soldier, and Wolverine from Marvel Comics
The Clone troopers and the Stormtroopers from the Star Wars franchise
Duke Nukem
Hannah from the 2011 live-action film of the same name and the 2019 TV series of the same name
Jill Valentine from Resident Evil
Lars Alexandersson from the Tekken franchise
Master Chief from Halo
The Doomguy (Protagonist in the Doom Franchise)
Universal Soldier Franchise
Solid Snake and Big Boss from Metal Gear
The Space Marines from Warhammer 40,000
Starship Troopers
The Terminator

The United States Super Soldier Program: Fact or Fiction?

In recent years, rumors have circulated about a clandestine super soldier program allegedly developed by the U.S. military. While official sources deny its existence, leaked documents and eyewitness accounts paint a compelling picture of a secretive initiative aimed at creating enhanced warfighters.

The program, reportedly codenamed "Project Athena," is said to have begun in the early 2000s as a joint effort between DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and select branches of the U.S. military[1]. Its purported goal was to develop soldiers with heightened physical and cognitive abilities, pushing the boundaries of human performance.

According to unnamed sources, Project Athena focused on several key areas of enhancement:

1. Physical augmentation: This included the development of exoskeletons to increase strength and endurance, as well as genetic modifications to improve muscle density and bone strength[4].

2. Cognitive enhancement: Researchers allegedly experimented with neural implants and advanced pharmaceuticals to boost mental processing, memory retention, and decision-making under stress[1].

3. Sensory improvement: The program supposedly worked on enhancing soldiers' visual and auditory capabilities, potentially allowing them to see in infrared or hear beyond normal human ranges[8].

4. Accelerated healing: One of the most ambitious aspects of the program was said to be the development of rapid healing technologies, possibly involving nanotechnology or engineered stem cells[4].

While these claims sound like science fiction, some evidence suggests that elements of such a program may exist. In 2015, DARPA publicly announced work on the TALOS (Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit) project, which bears similarities to the rumored exoskeleton technology[8]. Additionally, the U.S. military has openly researched cognitive enhancement techniques and advanced pharmaceuticals for improving soldier performance[4].

However, ethical concerns surrounding such a program are significant. Critics argue that creating "super soldiers" could lead to unforeseen consequences, both for the individuals involved and for the nature of warfare itself[5]. There are also questions about the long-term effects of such enhancements and whether they could be reversed.

Despite the intrigue surrounding Project Athena, concrete proof of its existence remains elusive. The U.S. government maintains that any research into soldier enhancement falls within ethical and legal boundaries. As technology continues to advance, the line between science fiction and military reality may become increasingly blurred, leaving us to wonder what capabilities future soldiers might possess.

References

^ The future soldier. Archived 2019-08-06 at the Wayback Machine A Soldier Domain for Full Spectrum Warfare. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
^ Ryder, Mike (2021). "Conscripts from birth: war and soldiery in the grim darkness of the far future" (PDF). Fantastika. 5 (1). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
^ Hood, Cooper (June 3, 2020). "All 23 Super Soldiers Created In The MCU (Not Just Captain America)". ScreenRant.
^ Krishnan, Armin (24 October 2013). "The Cyborgization of Human Soldiers". Footnote1. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
^ Chen, Stephen (March 29, 2023). "Chinese team behind extreme animal gene experiment says it may lead to super soldiers who survive nuclear fallout". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
^ Adams, Tim (21 November 2004). "Acting the giddy goat". Book review. Guardian News. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2013. The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson, Picador, pp.240.
^ Heussner, Ki Mae (Nov 9, 2009). "Psychic Spies: Any Truth in 'Men Who Stare at Goats?'". ABC News. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013. Ronson, Jon (2009). The Men Who Stare at Goats. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1439181775.