Rocket suits could be worn by Royal Navy sailors to ambush rival ships, the Defence Secretary has suggested.

Gavin Williamson enthused about the potential of jetpack-led combat operations after seeing a flying demonstration at a base in Portsmouth, where he unveiled a £75 million fund for new technology.

The cash injection is ostensibly earmarked for two “autonomous mine-hunter vessels” and a new programme called Navy X to develop robotics for use at sea.

However, the so-called “jet suit” elicited an excited response from the minister after Alex Wilson, a pilot from the private company Gravity, took to the air using handheld turbines.

The £340,000 kit has been likened to inventions seen in the superhero movie Iron Man and is capable of blasting someone up to 10,000ft in the air.

Mr Williamson, who had earlier been shown a selection of the navy’s most advanced drone technology, said to Mr Wilson, 23: "Can you just imagine doing an assault on to a ship?"

A representative from Gravity replied: "A ship you need to regain control of? You can have 10 people in different places all at once and the first thing they'll know is when they hear a faint jet noise."