Whoa, Bandai / Tamashii just showcased a figure wearing Ex-Gear. Not sure but it sure looks like Alto Saotome who's wearing the Ex-Gear. They displayed this in their booth at the Shizuoka Hobby show. Based from the literature, this is part of the Armor Plus series.
Alto Saotome is the main protagonist in the Macross Frontier Series. Based on the episodes, the Ex-Gear is worn by pilots of the VF's (VF-25 and VF-171EX) to enhance their movements and in order to survive high G forces. It also allows them to EVA out of their VF in space as well as to fly in normal atmosphere with the means of a wing that deploys at the back. There are wheels on the feet of the Ex-Gear allowing it to propel the user on land. Some other cool functions of the Ex-Gear is that it can remotely control a slave VF either by radio control or by jacking a plug at the outer port of a VF. It also comes with an assault rifle and a computer assisted helmet that goes on top of the regular flight helmet.
Other uses of the Ex-Gear is as a disciplinary tool for erring pilots or for rookie's under training. The power is usually turned off and the unluckly pilot is forced to do laps on the heavy and stiff Ex-Gear
Update: According to a hobbystock blog post, its supposed to cost around 6825 yen.
[source]
