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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Resupplying soldiers on the ground across the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan can be achieved through many different ways.
“There are a lot of choices available for us,” said Col. Michael Peterman, the commander of the 101st Sustainment Brigade “Lifeliners.” “We have to determine what can deliver by ground, by fixed wing, by helicopter. We have aerial delivery capabilities that give us options in dealing with the terrain.”
One option available to the brigade is the Joint Precision Air Drop System, a GPS capable parachute which delivers supplies from thousands of feet away from a forward operating base.
“The system has GPS, and it actually steers the canopy to the drop zone,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joshua Hughes, brigade aerial delivery technician. “Other bundles don’t steer or have GPS and have to be dropped at lower altitudes.”
The Lifeliners employ their riggers from the 11th Quartermaster Detachment when supplies can be air dropped into forward operating bases. The riggers can affix several different parachutes to bundles of fuel, medical supplies, ammunition and other supplies the Soldiers on the ground need.
Two other air drop systems the Lifeliners use require the aircraft to fly close to the FOB. Low-cost, Low-altitude airdrops comes in low and the load goes straight down, and the container delivery system can be dropped up to 3,000 feet, Peterman said.
However, the JPADS aerial delivery can be dropped from an altitude of up to 20,000 feet and 10 miles away from the point of impact. It’s also designed to land within 150 meters of the point of impact, Hughes said.
The system relies on the onboard GPS and airborne guidance system, which are attached to each bundle during the rigging process, to transport the bundles to the point of impact on the ground.
“The guidance system can steer the canopy,” Hughes said. “They can fly bundles to the point of impact using the airborne guidance system in the bundle.”
The bundles’ ability to be steered allows air drops to reach FOBs surrounded by mountains and other geographical obstacles. “For hard to get to areas that need the capability to steer through difficult terrain, JPADS can steer around the terrain,” Peterman said.
The JPADS can support up to 2,200 pounds of supplies per bundle, which is the same as a container delivery system, Hughes said. The heavy bundles are dropped to the ground gently by the guidance system. “It’s going to land as hard as a low velocity chute, so the survivability is high,” Hughes said.
Each of the JPADS system cost $32,000, with $22,000 being the airborne guidance system and $10,000 for each canopy, Hughes said.
“Compared to the other drops, their accuracy and survivability is high,” he said. “We can deliver to smaller, more remote FOBs, with more precise results.”
Next month, the brigade is slated to field new, low-cost canopies and airborne guidance systems. The new JPADS will include a terrain avoidance system, which will allow the bundles to be navigated around the mountainous terrain, Hughes said.
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 03.02.2011 02:02 |
| Story ID: | 66315 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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