Old hat
This sort of idea is old hat. The military has been playing with power armor since the 70's. The problem is neither in the power nor the armor part, it's getting it fast enough, and having enough endurance to be usefull.
I would guess that the real, unstated goal here is to develope an effective sealed body suit that the special forces can use. Right now, any envioronmental suit worth wearing is really clumsy. The benefits, both offensivly and defensivly, would be large.
The rest of it is flashy cover.
Jay
