WATCH First Footage of US Military Exoskeleton Testing

Field tests are expected to start in December, 2018, with, if successful, the planned first shipments to the US military to begin in 2020. This is the third iteration of Lockheed Martin’s development, with the previous two being having been deemed unfit for the army's needs.

The Breaking Defense media outlet has published the first video featuring the work of Lockheed Martin's latest exoskeleton for soldiers. In the video, a soldier is seen wearing a lower-body exoskeleton, running on uneven ground and crawling through rocks, unhindered by the mechanical contraption. The first model, called HULC, limited the freedom of movement of soldiers and exhausted them more than it helped.

READ MORE: Lockheed Martin's Electronic Exoskeleton Enters Active Military Testing

The skeleton weights roughly 6.5 kilograms and can operate for between 8 and 16 hours. Large-scale tests are planned for December 2018. If they prove to be successful, after last minute fixes and additions, the exoskeleton will be supplied to the US army beginning in 2020, the media outlet reported.