A while back, we learned that DARPA, the military's R&D branch, was hard at work on Projects BaTMAN and RoBIN, but apparently WayneTech's gotten yet another military contract. As reported by Wired, the US Air Force is currently hard at work on developing equipment they call Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided kNowledge, or as it is also known, BATMAN.

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Louis CK outfits one of America's indestructible robot mannequin soldiers. Photo courtesy of Wired.


Considering that this set of words doesn't even come close to making sense (though I am becoming inexplicably fond of the term "Man-Aided kNowledge"), I think it's pretty clear that military scientists just really want to name stuff after Batman, and that is awesome. But it doesn't end with the name: The BATMAN equipment actually involves a high-tech grappling hook:

BATMAN does come equipped with a Bat Hook: a grappling hook that special operators can throw onto power lines in order to charge up their battery-powered communications equipment.

According to a program engineer, the Bat Hook came about after a special operator observed that it would be "really cool" to design "'Something like what Batman has on his belt that he can take out and wing it up to a power line and get power,'"

Guys. That is awesome. But what's even more awesome is that while other sites only have access to the prototype design pictured above, ComicsAlliance has an exclusive look at what the Air Force's BATMAN equipment actually looks like! Check it out after the jump!

Here's the final design, courtesy of Lucius Fox, Senior Vice President of WayneTech R&D:


And what's more, we've even got a shot of it in action!


We think the floating text might be holographic images designed to confuse the enemy.

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