At the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, the U.S. Army is testing a new reusable parachute cargo drop system. The system is 25% faster to equip and 40% faster to remove after landing, allowing soldiers to quickly leave drop zones and escape. dangerous.
Developed during World War II, airdrops have evolved into standard procedures for resupplying troops and delivering humanitarian relief to inaccessible areas. But even with a parachute, pushing a large pallet of equipment and combat vehicles out of the rear of the aircraft can cause an unpleasant impact on landing.
To reduce this, the drop parachute system uses several inches of honeycomb cardboard on a steel pallet floor. Upon impact, the honeycomb collapses and absorbs the energy instead of transferring it to the cargo.
It works, but the cardboard honeycomb takes time to equip along with chutes and restraints and is basically a one-off system. After the drop, the cardboard must be stripped from the pallet and discarded using an axe, shovel, and pickaxe before the jeep-like cargo can be moved. Not only is this arduous work, but soldiers spend valuable time trying to hide before hostile forces emerge.
U.S. Army
To mitigate this, the Army is testing several options, including the Rapid Rigging De-Rigging Airdrop System (RRDAS). This replaces most of the cardboard with a series of fabric airbags folded under the pallet. These expand and expand under ambient pressure after the cargo is dropped, and then collapse to absorb the impact. According to the Army, the bags are reusable, can be inflated at altitudes of just 750 feet (230 m), and can handle loads of up to 22,000 pounds (10,000 kg).
In testing, Honeycomb reduced rigging time by 25% and reduced rigging by 40%. Additionally, the RRDAS includes outriggers to keep the cargo upright when it hits the ground if the cargo is a little heavy.
U.S. Army
Testing will continue this year, with full field testing under realistic scenarios scheduled to follow in the US fiscal year 2025 to fine-tune the design.
“We can increase the payload load and platform length, so we can drop heavier and longer items,” said Maj. said. and Combat Service Support. “We will be testing it on and off in Yuma for the next few years.”
Source: US Army
