Biologically Engineered Super Soldiers Reportedly Being Developed By France and China

It would appear China isn't the only country working on real-life Super Soldiers. Weeks after news surfaced the Middle Kingdom launched a genetic experiment hoping to give soldiers enhanced senses, another report suggests France is working on a similar program. In fact, the French publicly announced earlier this month it had received an "ethical go-ahead" to develop bionic soldiers, members of their military with improved "physical, cognitive, perceptive, and psychological capacities."

According to the British tabloid The Sun, the end result is a full-blown "super-soldier arms race" akin to a second Cold War.

"We've reached the point now where we could potentially manipulate people's DNA to breed into them extra strength, endurance and other things just as we do with animals," Kings College London professor Michael Clarke tells the tabloid. "Just as we've done with standard cattle to give them more back, we can do that now very precisely with humans."

Ripped straight from one of Hollywood's tentpole film franchise, Clarke warns that the battlefield could look drastically different in three decades, and the Chinese and French militaries will be among the first to develop their super-soldiers.

"What they're all thinking about is what might come up in 30 years' time, given another 10 years development and experimentation," Clarke added. "The Chinese in 30 years' time might have a cohort of people who are 20 years-old who've got particular characteristics they might have tried to breed into them by manipulating DNA."

One recent report from the International Society for Military Ethics gave super-soldiers a scientific name: Homo robocopus.

"Enhanced soldiers would be reduced to bionic men, who run fast, do not need sleep, eat and drink very little, and can fight all the time," the report reads.

For what it's worth, the entire Captain America franchise is now streaming on Disney+.