An obsolete military backpack, a harness, bungee cords, zip ties, padding, ammo cans, and some other spare parts. No, this isn’t MacGyver’s shopping list, these are the components used by U.S. Army soldiers in Afghanistan to create a rucksack-like carrier that enables machine gunners to carry and fire ammunition from the packs on their back.

Recognizing the capabilities of the soldiers’ prototype, a team of field engineers contacted the Quick Reaction Cell at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center in Natick, Massachusetts, to fine-tune the idea. Once the Quick Reaction Cell got a hold of the prototype, it took them 48 days to create the High-Capacity Ammunition Carriage System and send it back for field-testing. (The “Quick” in their title isn’t just for show.)

The military says the carrier, which holds and can fire up to 500 rounds of linked ammunition, reduces the need for a soldier to stop and reload as frequently by providing a steady-rate of fire directly from the wearer’s back – gunners usually have to reload after firing 100 rounds.

The carrier has earned the nickname “Ironman” in honor of the soldiers in Task Force Ironman who came up with the original idea. While field assessment of the prototype continues, the Army’s goal is to get Ironman into production by early fiscal year 2012.