Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No… it’s a flying marine!

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No… it’s a flying marine! Elite Navy unit tests out jet packs and gives us a glimpse of the future of warfare

  • Video shows Gravity Jet Suit being tested out by the Navy in the English Channel
  • Flying marines seen landing on a ship and dropping ladders to help other troops
  • The suits cost more than £300,000 and are only being trialled at this point

The future of warfare may look like your favourite superhero film after a Royal Marine put a jetpack through its paces by flying aboard a ship.

This astonishing video echoes the Iron Man movies with marines taking off from a rig fixed on to a small boat behind HMS Tamar and flying on to its deck.

The Gravity Jet Suit, from British aeronautics firm Gravity Industries, was being tested by the Navy in the English Channel for future boarding operations – with the video highlighting how the marines could easily jump from boat to boat by gliding through the air.

The Gravity Jet Suit was being tested by the Navy in the English Channel for future boarding operations – with the video highlighting how the marines could easily jump from boat to boat by gliding through the air

The video also shows a flying marine landing on to the ship and then dropping down a ladder so that other troops can climb aboard.

But the suits, which cost more than £300,000, are only being trialled at this point.

The Royal Navy has been testing out the concept of Jet Suit assault teams since last year.

The suits, which cost more than £300,000, are only being trialled at this point

The suits, which cost more than £300,000, are only being trialled at this point

The Royal Navy has been testing out the concept of Jet Suit assault teams since last year

The Royal Navy has been testing out the concept of Jet Suit assault teams since last year

The suits, reminiscent of Marvel superhero Iron Man, can reach speeds of more than 85mph and can fly for more than 10 minutes.

Gravity Industries’ founder Richard Browning served in the British Royal Marines before becoming a jet pack mogul.

Last year, he flew his 5-engine jet pack suit around the HMS Queen Elizabeth.