Jetpack Boarding Suit Will Turn Naval Interceptions Into Something from 'Star Wars'

Bad guys the world over will soon have one more thing to keep them up at night: commandos in jet suits descending on them from the skies.

British Royal Marines from the 42 Commando and 47 Commando units participated in an exercise with Richard Browning, the founder and chief test pilot of Gravity Industries, in which they demonstrated their ability to use jet suits to successfully board vessels at sea.

Video of the demonstration has since gone viral.

In the video, Browning is equipped with a jet suit and is seen flying from a small RIB and boarding the patrol boat HMS Tamar before drawing his sidearm and throwing down a ladder for his less terrifyingly equipped compatriots to board with.

The footage presents a definitively high-tech new tool for America and its allies to explore using in the field, and looks like something that might be more expected to appear in a Star Wars or Avengers film than the English Channel.

Admiral Tony Radakin, First Sea Lord, applauded the demonstration on Twitter, hailing the jet suit as a “game-changing kit.”

Indeed, provided the jet suit continues to work admirably, it could help to replace risky boarding techniques currently being utilized, such as having units rope down from helicopters one at a time.

“The vision with the Jet Suit is to provide extremely rapid access to any part of the target vessel, instantly freeing up hands to bear a weapon, and even retaining the capability to relocate on target or self-exfiltrate,” Gravity Industries stated in a news release, according to