ChiefsPlanet - News Military - C-130 Crew has New Method for Airdrops

http://www.military.com/news/article...RC=airforce.nl

A C-130 Hercules aircrew conducted a new method of airdrop that makes deliveries more accurate and flexible for resupply of small, mobile forces, in Afghanistan.
The C-130 aircrew from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, performed the first-ever low-cost, low-altitude combat airdrop to re-supply Soldiers at a forward operating base in Afghanistan. The airdrop concept became operational March 1.

The drops are termed "low-cost" to reflect the relative expense of the expendable parachutes compared to their more durable, but pricier, nylon counterparts. "Low-altitude" alludes to the relative height from which bundles are released from the aircraft.

"Our goal for this mission is to fly to a small forward-operating base and drop some of the smaller bundles to them," said Lt. Col. Darryl Sassaman, the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron assistant director of operations who flew on the first LCLA combat mission. They're different from the usual, larger bundles, which we normally drop. Depending on the group we're dropping for, they may not need the mass amount of supplies and equipment, but still need re-supply. Utilizing these smaller bundles accomplishes that mission, giving (ground forces) the ability to quickly pick up the supplies and keep moving forward."

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