Black Files Declassified (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Iron Man Army - full transcript

Baker: An undefeatable army

With superhuman
strength... [ gunfire ]

...Deadly aim... [ gunshot ]

...And an ability to kill
with their minds.

Is a black-budget-funded
supertroop on the drawing board

Or already a reality?

[ radio chatter ]

[ beeping ]

Every year, more than
$90 billion is allocated

To clandestine
government programs

Collectively called
the black budget.



Each individual operation
is a black file.

I'm mike baker.

As a covert cia
operations officer

For over a decade and a half,

I supervised missions
around the globe.

My security clearances
gave me access

To many classified projects.

Now I'm following
the money trail to the secrets

Hidden inside the black files.

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Fort meade, maryland, 1978.

A secret army unit

Is initiated by
the defense intelligence agency.

Soldiers undergo a series
of experiments



Designed to harness
their psychic ability,

Unleash superhuman strength,

Communicate telepathically
and kill with their mind.

The black-budget-funded quest
to create these super soldiers

Went by many code names,

But the most famous was
project stargate under the cia.

Declassified documents

Indicate the experiments
were unsuccessful.

But while project stargate
officially ended in 1995,

The research into creating
a super soldier did not.

The blueprint for today's
super soldier

Comes from general paul gorman.

In 1990, five years
before the official end

Of project stargate,
he submitted a report

To the defense advanced research
projects agency,

Commonly known as darpa.

His goal?

A full body suit capable
of withstanding ballistic,

Chemical, biological
and directed energy threats,

One that would increase
strength and stamina

And be neurologically connected
via a neural network.

He calls it supertroop.

I'm flying to virginia

To find out
from the general himself

Exactly what his vision was

And how close
black-budget technology

Has gotten to achieving it.

Baker: General.

Gorman: Hey, mike.

Very good to see you.
Thank you very much.

Glad you could come down.

General, some 30 years ago,

You wrote essentially
a visionary paper

That became known
as a supertroop proposal.

All those years ago,
what motivated you?

What inspired you to write this?

I spent three years at war.

So I was well aware
that soldiers can frequently,

Out of sheer fear,

Lack of sleep, other stresses
of the battlefield,

Lose their strength.

And so I was looking for a way
of assisting infantry

Soldiers to do the job.

What is supertroop?

Well, it's a suit
that the soldier could put on

And enable him to be stronger

And exert his maximum energies

Far longer over time
than he could otherwise.

What were the key components

Of the suit, of the exoskeleton?

He has to be
totally encapsulated

So that we can access
his various arms and legs

And his brain.

We have to provide power
to enable that.

There has to be
a lot of computing

That's built into the system.

And finally,

It has to be integrated
into his weapons systems.

At the time when you wrote it,

I mean, it must have seemed
like to some folks

Who received this
that it was science fiction

Or it was something
out of hollywood.

But hollywood helped a lot
in drawing attention

To such potential.

You began to see
these robocops, heroes

Wearing iron suits
and all that sort of.

But that helps get understanding

For where we were going
or might go.

You wrote this paper.

30 years now down the road,
are you happy with

Where we are in developing
this capability?

I'm optimistic
that in another 30 years,

We will be where we ought to be.

Thank you very much.

♪

General gorman's blueprints
inspired darpa's research

Into addressing
not just future weapons,

But fighter strength,
battle fatigue

And lethal accuracy
at various facilities,

Including the u.S. Army research
laboratory

In aberdeen, maryland.

For over 100 years,

Most of the technology
developed by the army

Has been designed
and engineered here,

Often in partnership with darpa.

This is where the first versions

Of a super soldier suit
took shape.

I've been allowed access
to see a component

Of general gorman's vision...
A device

To combat battlefield fatigue's
effect on lethality.

We were not allowed to film
our entrance to the facility

Or the security
clearance process.

But let's just say
it's very thorough.

Eventually we make it through
to meet dan baechle,

A u.S. Army mechanical engineer
who's designed

What could be a component
of the super soldier.

It's called the third arm.

Dan. Hi.
Hey.

Good to see you.
Likewise.

What was the inspiration
for this?

We wanted to do something

To improve lethality
for the soldier,

But we wanted to take a look
at what we can do

Without completely
redesigning a weapon

Or giving them something
that needs power.

Third arm is a completely
passive device,

Doesn't use any power,
motors or anything.

And that makes sense of
when you're talking about

Getting that technology
out into the field

In the hands of the war fighter.

It's passive.
No power concerns.

The third arm weighs in
at just under four pounds

And is made up of
ultra light carbon material.

Its design evenly
distributes the weight

Of the device and the weapon.

[ gunshots ]

Do you yourself notice
a difference

Just in something as brief
as this test?

Yeah, it's easier
to notice a difference

When you have
a heavier weapon on here.

I've had to stand around

With an m249 on this
for about a half-hour.

And yeah, that will
make a difference,

Especially if you can even

Potentially hold that weapon
at the ready

While you're operating a radio
or doing something else.

Of course, yeah, one-handed.

And, uh, yeah,

Then it makes a huge difference.

I was not able to try
the third arm out at aberdeen,

So I'm heading to
a nearby weapons range.

There, I'll see just how close
it can get me

To one more component
of the super soldier...

Making me a more accurate
and deadly shot.

Justin.
Mike, how you doing today?

Good to see you.

Justin stacy
is a mechanical engineer

Who's working with the military
on the third arm.

Alright, so what do you
have planned for today?

So today we're gonna be
using the weapon

In three round bursts
with no third arm.

Then we're gonna come back,
fix you up with the third arm,

And then we'll repeat
the same test

And we should be able
to see the results

On the papers in the end.

Excellent.
Let's get to it.

If you want to grab the weapon,

I'll take our ammo and we'll
head up to the firing line.

Alright.

Here's your ammo.

Alright.
Weapon is on safe.

We're going hot.

Three round burst.

[ gunshots ]

♪

This is run-and-gun
shooting as I was taught.

Will the third arm
make a difference?

I'm about to find out.

Single fire.

Baker: I'm at a weapons range
outside of washington, d.C.,

Testing out the third arm,
a passive assist system

That's one of the practical
applications

That stems directly

From the black-file projects
stargate

And general gorman's supertroop.

If it works, I'll be a more
accurate and deadly shooter.

But first,
I'm setting a baseline

Without the third arm.

We're going hot.

[ gunshots ]

♪

Single fire.

[ gunshots ]

♪

Stacy: Weapon on safe.

Weapon is clear.

Alright, mike,
so that was the baseline run,

The weapon by itself.

So you can really get the feel

And see the accuracy
and everything else.

And now we're gonna get you
suited up with a third arm.

Okay.

Makes things
a little bit smoother.

You'll feel the weight
kind of transferred

To your shoulders
and back there.

Putting on the third arm

Is similar to strapping
on a bulletproof vest.

So there's the weapon mounted

So you can kind of go ahead
and get a feel for it.

The weapon is on safe.

Yeah, it's... you know what?

It's... it's making
the job easier

In the sense of the weight.

And you still have
all your dexterity.

You're still able
to move the weapon

Up, down, left, right.

Alright, mike. So we're gonna
do the same testing again.

So you're gonna do
the three round burst

From seven yards.
Okay.

And then we're gonna
do the same run

With the arm, pull back up

And then we're gonna do
the same fire...

Single-fire commands as well.
Okay.

Baker: I'm curious to see

If the third arm has
any significant effect.

Here we go.

Range is going hot.

Range is hot.

[ gunshots ]

♪

♪

♪

To be honest with you, justin,

Once we started the tests,

I really wasn't even thinking
about the rig.

And that really just shows
how intuitive it is.

It's not a system
that you're fighting.

It really is an aid.

And that's the whole goal
of the system

Is to make the soldier
not realize it's there,

But add the benefit

Of holding the weight
the weapon for that.

Okay. Well, let's go
see the results.

Absolutely.

Alright, mike,
here we are at target one,

Your fully automatic fire,
your three round burst.

So the holes with circles here
from your first go around

Without the third arm.

And you can see
some of your groups

Are a little spread out.

But really impressive
with a third arm

Is just how tight those are.

Yeah.

And typically with...
With full auto,

You're gonna get
some ride, right?

And so you tend to want
to start a little bit lower.

It's gonna ride up

With a heavier round
in particular.

This is a 223.

So you're not
getting quite as much,

But you can still see it.

Nowhere near as tight
as with the third arm.

A study by the army
research laboratory

With active duty troops using
the third arm in live-fire tests

Showed the device
improved marksmanship

And reduced arm fatigue
and muscle activation,

Especially when testing
with a 27-pound

M240b machine gun.

Well, let's check
out the distance.

So on the standing shot
with the pause in between,

You can see your first three
rounds without the third arm.

Still not bad. They are
spread out a little bit.

Yeah. I suspect
this was the first one.

Then the fatigue
starts to wear in

And you can see...

You start getting
some of the shakes.

Right. You start
to lose that accuracy.

But then you look
at the third arm grouping...

And you see much tighter groups.

And you can really see
the effect of the arm

On how it worked with you
and your fatigue

After the run
and everything else.

Absolutely.

That's really good stuff.

Your grip strength
and your hands

Are just very improved.
Yeah.

Okay, so I'm a more accurate
and deadly shot,

But the black-file super soldier
strives for far more than that.

How will soldiers be able
to lift heavy equipment,

Weapons or carry
a wounded soldier

Out on the battlefield
without fatigue?

General gorman's blueprint
gave rise

To a number
of super soldier suits.

The first were tested out
by darpa.

Current research and
development is happening

In joint partnership
with several private companies

With the military
and black budget

Spending an estimated
$80 million so far.

I'm in northern california.

I'm about to visit
one of the manufacturers

Working with the military
on a super suit exoskeleton...

Suitx.

How close are they to giving
soldiers superhuman strength?

♪

Pleasure to meet you.

What sort of conversations
have you had with the d.O.D.?

How much interest
have they shown

In what you're doing here?

Well, they have shown
a great deal of interest.

We have solutions for them
that the soldier

Can actually run
without getting tired

Or perhaps a soldier
can actually carry major load

Without actually
getting injured.

The current version
that we're working on

Includes a set of hip braces
and a set of knee braces.

The load goes through the hip
and the knee,

Goes all the way
to the ground basically.

What I really want
to do is try the gear on,

See what sort of improvements
I can get.

Of course.

This should be interesting.

Will I actually be able to
increase my stamina and strength

Using the exoskeleton?

To determine just how effective
the exoskeleton is,

I'm going to do
a before and after

With a couple of standard
military exercises.

- Mike.
- Great to meet you. Logan.

Good to meet you, logan.
So what do we got here?

I'm assuming
this is my deadlift.

Yeah. So we got a bunch
of sandbags inside this box.

- Oh, god.
- Okay.

So what do we got?
About 165, 170.

My body weight in here?
Exactly. Full of sand.

Okay.

Okay.

So sort of repetitive lifting.

Yeah. You're lifting
a lot of weight,

But even when you're lifting,
you know, 50,

20 pounds over
a long-enough duration,

It can still be
pretty damaging to your body.

Okay. Got it.

Don't need to do that much more.

Let's try the arm.

So let's see
what we've got here.

I'm sure you can start
to feel that

In your shoulder muscles,
anterior deltoid.

Oh, yeah, no, absolutely.
It doesn't take very long

To get kind of little twitching
going on.

Get the shakes.
Right. Right.

I think we're gonna
call it a day on this one.

See the shakes?
Yeah.

Alright.
So let's get the suit on.

Okay, great.

There you go.

You want to get that belt
nice and secure over your hips

And this will just
fasten over your chest.

The suitx is made of steel,
aluminum and nylon.

Alright. So now
we'll throw the legs on.

These one by one.

It's rugged
and certainly lightweight.

But what's surprising

Is that there are no batteries
required to power the suit,

Just springs
and counterbalances.

Exactly.
Let's see if it works.

Baker:
I'm in northern california

Trying out an exoskeleton,

A prototype
of the kind general gorman

Conceived of as part of his plan

For an undefeatable
warfighter...

An estimated $80 billion
black-budget-funded project

To create
an integrated super soldier.

Now, as you start to squat down,

You're gonna have
to balance yourself.

You'll feel a hard stop

Where the device will take
100% of your weight.

So if you're moving around
and are continually squatting

To a certain position...
Oh, yeah, right there.

...This will essentially,
you know...

That's fantastic.

This is fantastic.
I can do this all day.

The suit works by transferring
the weight that's being lifted

By the exoskeleton frame
through actuators at the hips

And transferring it to the legs,

Bypassing the injury prone
back muscles

And reducing
fatigue-related injuries.

So we can turn
the back module on

By these switches
behind your hips.

So you push that down.
Same on the other side.

So now when you bend forward,

You'll feel a little bit
of resistance in your chest.

So now when you combine them,
you get the hip

And the knee flexion
to help you perform that.

That is really interesting.
Okay.

Well, I know how heavy this was

Without the gear, so...

Yeah, I mean,
it's... it's amazing

Given that there's...
There's no power to this thing.

Right?
Just springs.

That's fantastic.
Alright.

150 pounds now feels no
different

Than lifting an 8-
or 9-pound gallon of milk.

Yeah.

Well, I could just stand here

And talk to you
doing this all day,

But I'm not going to.

I'm sure your arms
are still a little bit tired.

This is not... not yet.

So speaking of arms,

Shoulders for the
for the extension...

Mm-hmm.

So the shoulder modules
aim to support

Any type of overhead tasks,

So anything where you're going
from chest to ceiling level,

Repetitively or sustained,
it'll essentially feel

Like a moving shelf

That you can rest
your upper arm on.

So these will just pop right
into your shoulder frame here.

Okay.
So it really is modular.

Yep.

You still get
your full range of motion.

I'm gonna repeat that same lift.

Alright.

Yeah, that's impressive.

Yeah. You'll feel
that one pretty immediately.

Yeah.
No, right away. Right away.

I mean, I literally got
into this position

And it's like somebody
is holding my arms up.

Without the shoulder module,

My arms began shaking
after a couple of minutes.

Combine this with the third arm

And the battlefield soldier
will be tireless

And shoot with consistent,
deadly accuracy.

Anything you can do
for the war fighter on the field

To limit that fatigue
and improve their ability,

You know, the consistency

And accuracy of their shooting,

That's tremendous.

Well, if you're bored with
with what I'm doing,

You can go get a cup
of coffee maybe

And I'll meet you back here.

Alright, cool. Listen,
I got to tell you something.

This is... this is
legitimately impressive.

The effects of
suitx are tremendous.

It's a strong first step
towards general gorman's

Fully robotic-powered
exoskeleton.

Since I know darpa worked
on different projects

Stemming from gorman's concept
of a super soldier,

I wonder what other components
are in development,

Including technology
that gets us closer

To project stargate's
telepathic super soldier.

I'm on my way
to washington, d.C.,

To speak with
a military journalist

Who's tracked close
to $100 million

And rising in black-file monies.

His sources give him

Comprehensive and up-to-date
intel on black-file projects,

Including super soldier.

Baker: Patrick,
to what degree

Is the funding
coming from open source,

Identifiable
within the various budgets?

And to what degree do you think
you've got hidden budgets,

Funding some of these projects
that are very sensitive?

Well, it's hard to say
what's in the hidden budgets.

A lot of it right now
is coming through the army

And they're putting
a big emphasis

On what's called
soldier lethality.

There's also a lot of money
going into new forms

Of artificial intelligence
to collect that information

And then feed it
to that operator

And the people behind them.

And that's where you're getting
into some opaqueness

In terms of what the military's
actually building.

One such operation
was project maven,

A joint venture with google
and the department of defense,

Developing algorithms to sift
through government-acquired data

That could be used to improve
drone strikes

On the battlefield
and elsewhere.

Controversy arose when employees
objected to the data use,

Forcing google to drop out.

So they want that decision
to kill or not to kill,

To be in the hands of a human.

But making that
possible requires

A lot of new
artificial intelligence

That might be controversial.

So where do you think
we're going to be,

Realistically,
say, 10, 15 years out?

Definitely going to see

Big breakthroughs in body armor

That allow for a lot
more flexibility,

A lot more movability,

Better projectile deflection
and at less weight.

But why haven't we seen
a fully powered robotic suit?

It's really hard to create
robotic armor

That you can power
over the duration

That the military needs
that suit to be active.

In order to power
the robotic elements

To give the soldier
super strength,

You'll run through
a lot of power very quickly.

You wind up carrying big, hot
lithium-ion battery packs

That also aren't gonna power you
through the desert

In any extended period of time.

I do think that you'll see
a lot of new technologies

To compensate for that.

Small drones
about the size of a bug

With an infrared
and a regular camera

That can see around corners.

Drones deployed by troops

Are edging us
towards the super soldier

That general gorman and project
stargate envisioned.

Increased lethality
is a major focus.

But what about the flip side...

Protecting our soldiers?

Baker: The technology
of the future warrior

Is becoming a reality,

Thanks in part to black-funded
research and development.

I've experienced
increased lethality...

Range is hot.

[ gunfire ]

...And strength.

That's fantastic.

Now I'm curious to know
what developments are

In the works
to protect our fighters.

I'm reaching out to
interdisciplinary scientist

Ben mcgee to find out.

What's in the works
to keep our soldiers safe?

What they're working on now
is liquid armor.

Liquid armor.

So before we go any further,
if I could ask you,

Won't you please put on
a pair of safety goggles?

Alright.
Yeah.

Always a good idea.

Yes.

And what we are working
with today is this.

This is not a firearm.
It uses pressurized gas.

It's a lot like a paintball gun.

They call it a marker pistol.

But it's firing several
hundred feet per second.

We're gonna be shooting these.

Okay.

And pay attention

To the nearest circle
of this here.

Imagine that the paper
is the skin over your body.

Take a look
at that first target.

Went right through it.
Alright. Yeah.

No, that's... that's pretty
straightforward.

A piece of paper.
You shot it.

You are trying to tell me what?

Well, I'm going
to pour liquid on it.

So watch what happens here.

So normally when you put
liquid on a paper,

You think it weakens it.

I would like you
to take the shot

At the thickest part
of that fluid.

Alright.

Look at that.

Bounces right off.

That is incredible.

What are we looking at here?

Alright.
Well, let me show you.

So this is what I just
poured on to that paper.

Alright.

Go ahead
and dip your finger in that.

Okay.

See, it's a fluid.
It's a fluid.

Yeah, it's like...
It's like a glass of milk.

Punch it as hard
as you can with your finger.

Say what?

Punch it with your finger
as hard as you can.

You hear that?

You got to be
kidding, It went solid.

Yes.

And the harder you punch it,
the more solid it'll get.

Okay. Slowly.

And then... that is fantastic.

Ben, I'm having...
I'm having flashbacks

To our high school science.

I do remember that

This is this is kind of
an experiment that we did

With cornstarch and water.

You got me.

Okay. I remember that,

But I don't remember
why it works.

Explain that.
Alright.

So this is an example
of a non newtonian fluid.

So how does this work?

You supply the energy

To turn this liquid
into a solid.

Think of it like
you're propping up a brick wall.

So the harder you push,
the more upright,

The more solid
you're making the material.

But as soon as you stop
supplying that force,

It falls apart again.

So it's not the heat

That's causing it to change.

It's the literally
the energy of the bullet

Striking the liquid.

Yeah.

Transforms and creates
this molecular structure.

Yeah. It's the rate at which
the energy is being dumped

Into that fluid
that actually gives it

The steam to arrange itself
into something.

But as soon as you stop,
as soon as the bullet stops,

It's bounced away.

Well, then it relaxes
and goes back

To its equilibrium state

For this temperature
and pressure.

So the level of energy,
which is why I can dip

My finger slowly into it
or I can slam it.

That's fantastic.
Yeah, you got it.

But we're not using
cornstarch and water,

Right, to keep our troops safe?

But leveraging similar
or the same laws of physics

Using very sophisticated,
engineered, molecular materials

And then weaving that
into and through

Fibers or kevlar

To provide the next generation
of body armor.

Increased physical strength,
accuracy...

[ gunshot ]

...And research into
the use of liquid body armor

Are all filling in the promises
of general gorman's supertroop.

But how about project stargate?

Is the warrior of the future
going to kill with their mind?

I'm about to meet a former darpa
scientist who claims we can.

She worked on secret research
funded by a darpa black file

To inoculate soldiers
from battlefield stress

Like limited sleep,

Emotional disturbance
and physical exertion.

I'm back at range 82.

It's here dr. Amy kruse says

She can train me
to focus my mind

And become a more deadly
and accurate shot.

I'm interested to learn
more about her work.

Amy?
Hey, how's it going?

Good to see you.
Great to see you, too.

I was a program manager
at darpa.

And while I was at darpa,

I ran a variety
of different programs

In what I called
operational neuroscience.

So taking neuroscience
out of the lab

And into the field.

Right?
And so what we looked at

Was actually how do
we use neuroscience tools

To improve human performance,

Improve soldiers' performance
as quickly as possible?

We're actually able

To use the neuroscience
technologies

To improve learning
and enhance learning

Up to about 100% to 200% faster.

Wow, really?
Yeah.

100% over what period of time?

Yeah.
Over just a few weeks.

And I'm gonna show you today,

Actually, just how to do it
pretty quickly.

The idea behind the program

Was that experts have
particular brain signatures.

So what we were able to do
was we were actually able

To measure
experts' brains in real time

And kind of map that out.

During a particular activity.

Yeah.
So we did this in marksmanship.

We use something
called neurofeedback.

So you can actually
give somebody feedback

About how to achieve that state.

When you take them back out
onto the range,

They're actually better.

Okay.
So in a relatively

Short bit of time
that we've got,

You think you can actually
improve my performance?

Yep.
In just a couple hours,

I'll improve
your shooting performance.

Let's do it.
Alright. Let's get started.

So I'm just gonna take you
through the basics here.

So, first of all, I'm going
to put this headband on you.

Ready?
Ready.

Alright.
Let's take a shot.

It sounds like science fiction.

But if it turns me
into a better shot

In just a few hours,
I can't argue with that.

Here goes.

Baker: I'm in the virginia
countryside at a shooting range

With a former
darpa neuroscientist

Who's showing me how to use
the power of my mind

To make me a more lethal shot.

So what I'm gonna do
is I'm just gonna line

The headband up with the front.

Your head looks good.

Okay. So this sets
up a baseline.

Yeah. Yeah.
So the four sensors

Are actually gonna
just start recording

The brain activity.

The band will monitor
which parts of my brain

Are active during shooting.

After three decades
training with firearms,

I'm a little skeptical
that a few hours

Will change my accuracy,

But I'm willing
to give it a shot.

Okay.
Range is going hot.

♪

♪

[ gunshots ]

I'm firing from 50 yards
out with iron sights

And no practice
rounds beforehand.

[ gunshots ]

♪

So first, let's take
a look at the target.

Your shots are up there.
Baker: Yeah.

The second thing is,

Is that if you can see here,
this alpha gauge,

It was quite low
during all of your shots.

So I could not only tell
obviously just from

The shots themselves,

But I could tell by the measure
of the gauge

That you were not in the zone.

Baker: Now the goal is to get
my brainwaves

Into the same patterns
as an expert marksman.

It's called being in the zone.

Interesting.

How do I then get in the zone

And improve
what just happened there?

So we're gonna take you
through two games,

And it's gonna allow you
to sort of figure out

For yourself what it feels like

To get in that state.

Really?
I don't touch the cursor.

I don't do anything with it.
Yeah.

That's crazy.
Yeah.

Okay.

Okay. Mike, I'm gonna
let you work on that.

And I'll come back
and check on you.

Sounds good. Alright.

The first game has me visually
focusing in on a target.

I mentally fire at my target,

Turning it from red
to green with a direct hit.

Hey, mike.
Oh, hey, there.

How you doing?
It's fascinating.

And, you know, it wasn't
where I thought it would be.

It was more difficult
than I expected.

So now what I'm gonna
have you do

Is a little bit more
kind of sophisticated game.

This one is more
like a video game.

I focus on hitting the target

While using the cursor
and firing.

♪

♪

Hey, it looks like
you're doing a lot better.

We're actually looking at
two specific frequencies

With this headband.

We're looking at alpha frequency

And theta frequency,

And those are the ones that are

Really most closely related
with this expert performance.

Alpha and theta waves
are both brainwaves

Associated
with relaxation and focus.

The goal is to increase them.

So I can literally see
as you're training yourself

To get into the zone.

I can see your alpha increase.

I can see your theta get higher.

Okay.
Alright.

Well, let's see

If I've become a better shooter.

If I have, that would be
a strong testament

To project stargate's main goal
becoming a reality.

[ gunshots ]

♪

♪

Okay.

Well, I hoping to walk over here

And see massive improvement.

I got some good news.

Yep.
Here you go.

Look at that.
Yeah.

Okay. No, that's
really impressive, amy.

Right. Yeah.

And the thing about it is
I could actually watch

Your alpha go up
right before the shots.

So I was... I was... you were...

I was clearly in the zone.

You were clearly in the zone.

Consistent and repeated
training ingrains

The lessons into the brain,

Making it feel like
second nature on the battlefield

And freeing up the soldier from
stresses like fatigue or fear.

[ gunshot ]

I got to tell you,
I'm very impressed.

I'm very impressed.

Well, it's, you know,
the data...

The data don't lie.

Something like this

That gives them just
that little bit extra...

Right.
...Is critical.

So I think it's... I think
it's really amazing.

There were more
than a few skeptics

When project stargate first
suggested exploring brain power

As a viable force.

I removed myself from that list

After experiencing positive
results in a very short time.

But we weren't the first
to investigate

Militarizing the power
of the mind.

Project stargate
was created as a reaction

To the soviet union's research
into psychic spies,

Part of their effort
to create a super troop.

♪

I'm heading back to d.C.
To speak with sam bendett

With the international
affairs group

Of the center
for naval analysis.

He's going to tell me
if russia is developing

And deploying
a psychic super soldier.

How are you?
Mike.

Nice to meet you.
Good to meet you, too.

Tell me about what the russians
are doing right now.

Russians have been developing

An infantry combat suit
called ratnik.

Ratnik is an old
russian word for soldier.

And right now,
we're on the second generation.

So it's already deployed,
the ratnik 2.

Ratnik 2 is deployed.

It's got a bunch of protective
gear on a soldier,

Special helmet,
some communication systems.

Well, russians have tested
that system in syria.

They've been using it
in various exercises.

It looks to be effective enough

For what the russians
want to accomplish.

What do we know
about those other systems

Beyond the ratnik 2?

Supposedly the plan is
to start fielding parts

Of ratnik 3 around 2025
and beyond.

And ratnik 3
is going to have, supposedly,

An active exoskeleton,

Mini uavs for better
situational awareness

And interactive helmet
and other systems

That would be able
to monitor the health

And the status
of a soldier in the field.

Baker: Are the russians ahead
of us in the race

To build a super soldier?

Depends on who you speak with.

I'm about to meet
a former soldier

Who says we may not
only improve lethality

With increased mental abilities,

But also achieve the extreme
promise of project stargate...

Killing with our minds.

Baker:
Starting in the 1950s,

The cia,
along with the military,

Began a controversial
look at psychic phenomena

Focused on developing
a troop full of psychics,

Capable of communicating
and killing with their minds.

Just how close are we to this
science-fiction battlefield?

I'm heading to downtown
los angeles to meet

With a former soldier
turned journalist

Who's been following
the darpa black budget.

Their artificial
intelligence program alone

Has a line item of $2 billion.

♪

Logan.
- Mike, nice to see you.

Good to see you, man.

What part of the black budget
is this sitting in?

This money is mostly
coming through darpa,

Which the joke is sort of that

These are the mad scientists
of the military.

Darpa gets money from congress

Or through different
military budgets to then

Fund the military's
biggest priorities.

And these guys
are paid to think big.

One of the things
we're most excited about

Is something called
augmented reality

That's coming
to the battlefield.

What are we talking about?

So augmented reality
is a computer-generated image

That can be projected
onto the real world

Through a screen or a visor.

So the soldier sees it,
but they can also see

Everything that's going on
in the world around them.

This sounds like
the augmentations

To a fully robotic suit

That patrick tucker
told me about.

He can start receiving
that information

From what's on the sensor ball
over his shoulder

And from what's
with other soldiers.

So his sensor ball sees a drone.

Now he can see exactly
where that drone is.

He can see there's
an observation .3 friendly.

That's telling him

Where his friendly soldiers are.

Now he can see everything
that's going on on the map.

He knows
where the I.E.D. Is,

But he doesn't have to
see everything.

These guys that are about
to go into a fight,

They may want to pare down
the information they have

So they can start saying,

"hey, I just want to see the map

Of where I'm at
and how to get to the target

The platoon leader
wants me to hit."

Meanwhile, mission command
can see everything

That they're doing,
everything that they've done

And how the mission
is going on the ground.

How far along are we

With the development
of this technology?

They've created ivas...

The integrated
visual augmentation system.

The system has the visor
and the great computers.

But then they added a lot
of their own sensors onto it,

Including forward-looking
infrared and night vision.

What's the end game

In terms of the next
iteration of this?

Are they looking to
at some point

Eventually remove
the visor entirely?

Yeah.
So what would be great

Is if we could just feed
that information

Directly into you.

And the way that
they're looking at doing that

Is something called
a brain machine interface.

In 2015, a paralyzed woman
volunteered to allow

Darpa scientists
to implant a chip in her brain,

Allowing her to direct
a prosthetic

To feed her a bar of chocolate.

That same woman using
the same device was later

Taught to fly an f-15 simulator.

Now advancements in that
system allow soldiers

To control a swarm of drones

By sending
and receiving signals to them.

Are you talking about
the ability for the soldiers

To communicate telepathically?

They could.
So if I have a soldier

That can communicate
with his brain with a machine,

And that machine
can also communicate

With all the other soldiers
on the battlefield,

That could mean that
I could project information

To the rest of my unit,

To the rest of my squad
without having to speak.

The idea of soldiers
being able to communicate

With each other
telepathically is amazing

In terms of the technology
and remarkable

In that it's bringing
the essence

Of the black-file project
stargate into reality.

It also aligns with
general gorman's vision

Of a neural brain network.

So how much further can we go
with a super soldier

And should we?

To find out,
I'm meeting with a futurist

Who regularly advises
the government

In national security matters.

♪

♪

Peter, how is this soldier

Likely to change the battlefield
in the future?

We're starting to see
human performance enhancement

Changing the body itself,

And that might be everything
from mental cognition, memory,

How we process information,
fear,

To endurance,
power, you name it.

And when we pull back
and think about that,

It's amazing.

We're talking about
pushing past limitations

That have held back us
as a species.

Darpa is investing $65
million of unclassified funds

Into researching how gene
editing and drugs

Can enhance true performance
and abilities.

Other programs,
like persistence in combat,

Focus on adapting soldiers
to needing little or no sleep,

Feel less pain and undergo
biomedical alterations

That allow their bodies
to heal more rapidly.

We're talking about
a fundamentally different

Human body, human mind
and its performance,

And that can unlock
a lot of things

When we're, you know,
playing in a realm like war.

Can it unlock
bad things as well?

Absolutely. For example,
there's certain drugs

That affect how you process fear

Or allow you
to learn more rapidly.

But they also affect
your memory.

They affect your confidence.

Performance-enhancement drugs
like modafinil

Have been tested on
highly trained helicopter

And fighter-jet pilots,

Allowing them to fly
for 40 hours straight.

They are working on
these technologies

Because they believe
it will save soldiers' lives

And make them more lethal.

That is why we are doing it.

We don't know, however,

The long-term effect of it
on everything.

What happens when
the soldiers themselves

Are maybe different?

Transforming humans for war

Involves fundamentally
changing the human body.

That's fantastic.

Stronger, faster, no fatigue,

Complete focus and incorporating
cutting-edge biotechnology.

I personally experienced
some of the results

Of black-file-funded research
into creating a super soldier...

Technology inspired
by project stargate

And general gorman's
supertroop blueprint.

Their work is not
just visionary, it's real.

The search for the perfect
soldier has existed

As long as warfare,

But now the military
working within black files

And with scientists
are bringing together

The disparate elements
of a true super soldier.