May 29, 2007:
The U.S. Air Force now has a reliable
high altitude, guided cargo parachute systems, mainly for use in Afghanistan.
The JPADS (Joint Precision Airdrop System) and ICDS (Improved Container
Delivery System) provide a system whereby C-17s or C-130s carrying pallets of
supplies, are equipped with GPS, and mechanical controls, to guide the
direction of the descending parachute for pinpoint landings. Before the
parachute is used, the pallets first release a parafoil (a parachute that can
be controlled in such a way that the user can gain altitude and travel over
long distances), and the pallet descends at about 44 meters a second (from an
altitude of about 6,000 meters, safely away from any ground fire), guided
towards the landing point. When a few hundred meters over the programmed drop
zone, the parafoil is released and the parachute deploys, bringing the pallet
(with up to five tons of supplies) down within a hundred meters of the
programmed landing point. A single C-17 can deliver up to 40 pallets this way,
to many different landing zones. JPADS has release point information
(calculated using current weather conditions) sent to the C-17, along with GPS
landing coordinates for the pallets. This GPS data is transmitted to each
pallet via a wi-fi type system.
The new system has been developed, over the last
four years, from earlier precision para-drop systems. All rely on GPS to give
accurate landing information, and easily manipulated parafoils to provide the
maneuverability. The aircrews find it fascinating to push a bunch of pallets
out, then watch as they form into "flocks" and head off for their various drop
zones. For the troops on the ground, it's a convenient way to get supplies, no
matter where they are out in the boondocks.
Before the development of GPS guided air drops, a
large percentage of air dropped supplies were lost, either by falling into
enemy hands, or into things that destroyed them (especially water). With the
new delivery systems, it's possible to do night drops, if you don't want to
alert nearby enemy troops.