Suction ascender for Special Forces to scale walls

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Grappling hooks can get you up a vertical wall. But U.S. special forces are looking for something better.

Last August, students from 17 universities and the three armed forces academies were each given $20,000 and tasked with creating a superior vertical ascender for the annual AFRL Design Challenge.

The teams came together this spring to put their hardware to the test at Calamityville, the National Center for Medical Readiness training facility at Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio. The goal: get four special ops personnel over a 90-foot sheer concrete face with innovative climbing equipment.

Read more at popularmechanics.com