France approves development of super soldiers

A frail man is enhanced to the peak of human physicality after receiving a serum that gives him strength and stamina 10 times greater than an average soldier. This is how Steve Rogers from “Captain America: The First Avenger” becomes “Captain America.”

Efforts to develop a super soldier like him have officially begun in France. It is expected to intensify the competition among military powers to turn their armed forces into “lethal weapons,” which will be a game changer in warfare.

BBC has reported that France’s military ethics committee gave the French armed forces permission to use medical treatments and implants in order to develop soldiers with enhanced physical, cognitive and psychological capabilities.

The so-called “bionic soldiers” project allows research into microchip implants that improve service members’ intelligence as well as medical interventions that prevent pain, stress, sleepiness and fatigue. Other areas to be explored include pills that improve their eyesight and hearing, location tracking and connectivity with other soldiers. It is literally to produce “super soldiers.”

Quite a few countries have ongoing projects to make bionic soldiers. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a research agency of the United States, has been testing microchip implants for years. Washington is also developing nanotechnology-based artificial red blood cells that can augment physical capabilities, genetic modification that allows soldiers to stay awake and brain wave-controlled drones.


Youn-Jong Kim zozo@donga.com