Flying to work in a jet suit

Could personal jet suits and jetpacks become everyday transport?

Wearable jet suits have flown with trained pilots, in a simulated casualty run in the Lake District in 2020, on a naval boarding trial in 2021, and in an onshore paramedic trial in 2022. Flights last a few minutes. The sources reviewed contain no independent fuel, endurance or noise figures for a jet suit, and no UK rule for routine flight. Use is still limited to trials.

AI illustration · Illustrative scene, not a photograph of the specific device or experiment.
WHERE WE AREEngineering prototypes

Getting closer. Prototypes exist, but not in real-world use.

Free flight by trained pilots has been shown, and the suits have been used in trials with a navy and an air ambulance service. Routine use has not been shown. The sources reviewed contain no reported live patient response, no independent measurement of fuel use, endurance or noise, and no UK rule for routine use. Flights are short and the suits remain specialist, so the stage is engineering prototype rather than pilot.

The tech tree

Everything recorded on Vrulum that this future needs, oldest foundations at the top and the goal at the bottom. Lines show what each step requires.

What it takes: Flying to work in a jet suit Unlocked Being researched Locked
  1. 2015Jet suits and jetpacksPilot and early commercial Unlocked.
  1. 2018Free flight of a wearable jet suit by a trained pilotDone Unlocked.
  2. 2020Flight over rough ground to a simulated casualtyDone Unlocked.
  3. 2021Boarding a naval ship from a fast boatDone Unlocked.
  4. 2022Paramedics trained to fly a jet suit unassistedIn progress Being researched.
  5. Date not recordedLive emergency response with real patientsNot started Locked.
  6. Date not recordedIndependent measurement of fuel use, endurance and noiseNot started Locked.
  7. Date not recordedA regulatory route for routine flightNot started Locked.
  1. GoalFlying to work in a jet suitGoalRequires: Jet suits and jetpacks, Free flight of a wearable jet suit by a trained pilot, Flight over rough ground to a simulated casualty, Boarding a naval ship from a fast boat, Paramedics trained to fly a jet suit unassisted, Live emergency response with real patients, Independent measurement of fuel use, endurance and noise, A regulatory route for routine flight. Locked.

The road so far

3 of 7 steps done, 1 in progress.

  1. Done · 2018Free flight of a wearable jet suit by a trained pilot

    NBC News reported in July 2018 on a jet suit made by Gravity Industries, flown by its founder Richard Browning. The article attributes a flight time of up to four minutes to Reuters. The figure comes from the company and the press, not from an independent test. [1]

  2. Done · Sept 2020Flight over rough ground to a simulated casualty

    In a test in the Lake District, Richard Browning flew from the valley floor to a simulated casualty site in 90 seconds. The air ambulance charity's news item said the same walk on foot would take about 25 minutes. The casualty was simulated, not a real patient. The charity's page gives the day and month but no year, and a dated report from September 2020 confirms the year. [2][3]

  3. Done · 4 May 2021Boarding a naval ship from a fast boat

    In May 2021, Royal Marines from 42 and 47 Commando took part in a trial in which a marine in a jet suit took off from a fast inflatable boat and landed on the deck of patrol ship HMS Tamar. The First Sea Lord, Admiral Tony Radakin, described the kit as 'game-changing'. The report states the suit's power as 1,050 brake horsepower and its speed as above 80 mph, without naming a source for either figure. [4]

  4. In progress · 22 Mar 2022Paramedics trained to fly a jet suit unassisted

    In March 2022, the Great North Air Ambulance Service, Ørsted and Gravity Industries reported an onshore trial. One paramedic had completed a first free flight unassisted, and more were expected to reach that stage. The articles report no patient responses yet and give no flight times or fuel figures. Ørsted says the time savings have been 'found and proven' but gives no figures. [5][6]

  5. Not startedLive emergency response with real patients

    The air ambulance trial planned a later stage, due in summer 2022, in which paramedics would be assessed on real operational performance. The sources reviewed do not report that stage as complete. [5]

  6. Not startedIndependent measurement of fuel use, endurance and noise

    No independent test of a jet suit's fuel burn, endurance or noise was found in the sources reviewed. The only fuel figures found are for an earlier jetpack, the JB-9, not a jet suit. [7]

  7. Not startedA regulatory route for routine flight

    In 2017 a UK Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said it may be necessary to create a new category of regulation for this technology, and that a pilot would almost certainly need some kind of training and a licence. The sources reviewed show no final UK rule for jet suits. [8]

Why it matters

Everyday personal flight would need a safe, quiet and affordable machine, trained pilots and a legal route to use it over people and property. The sources so far show progress on the first step, a flying suit with trained pilots, but little evidence on the others. The trials so far are in niche uses such as emergency response and ship boarding, and their results will show whether the idea can scale.

What stands in the way

  • Flight times are short. The one jet suit flight time found is up to about four minutes, which limits range and the time a suit can spend on a task.
  • Fuel use and endurance have not been measured independently for a jet suit, so the figures in circulation cannot be checked.
  • Noise has not been measured in any independent public source reviewed. Its effect on pilots, bystanders and neighbours is therefore not established.
  • No final UK rule for routine flight exists in the sources reviewed. A regulator has said a new category may be needed.
  • Pilot training routes and licensing have not been set out publicly in the sources reviewed.
  • Cost is high. NBC News reported a price of £340,000 in 2018, and said only nine of the custom-made suits were available for sale. No later price was verified.

Signals to watch

  • An independent published test of fuel burn, endurance and noise for a jet suit.
  • A published UK regulatory position or a named training and licence route for jet suit pilots.
  • A jet suit paramedic response to a real patient, reported by the air ambulance service.
  • A naval or military programme that moves from trial to routine use.
  • A jet suit flight time or payload figure, verified by a body that is not the maker.

Sources

  1. news
    Jet pack lets you live your Iron Man fantasies (NBC News)
    Ella Koscher. NBC News, 23 Jul 2018.
  2. other
    Jet Suit Paramedic (Great North Air Ambulance Service news item)
    Great North Air Ambulance Service, Sept 2020.
  3. news
    The future of mountain rescues: a jet suit paramedic
    Bob Smith. grough, 29 Sept 2020.
  4. news
    Navy and Marines test 'game-changing' ship-boarding jet suit
    Forces News, 4 May 2021.
  5. other
    GNAAS partners with renewable energy leader for Jet Suit paramedic trials
    Great North Air Ambulance Service, 22 Mar 2022.
  6. company announcement
    Ørsted trials worlds first Jet Suit paramedic
    Ørsted, 22 Mar 2022.
  7. news
    Finally, the jetpack we've always wanted
    Evan Ackerman. IEEE Spectrum, 10 Nov 2015.
  8. news
    TED 2017: UK 'Iron Man' demonstrates flying suit
    Ada Derana (reprinting BBC Technology), 28 Apr 2017.

Last reviewed 21 Oct 2026.