# 418th FLTS testing "new" C-130 airdrop system



## DA SWO (Aug 3, 2012)

This "new" system seems similar to the one the MC-130E Crews used in the 80's; maybe talonlm can chime in...




http://www.edwards.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123312187

8/1/2012 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- What was initially known as the most commonly used airdrop method for the aerial insertion of supplies for military and contingency operations called the Container Delivery System, the 418th Flight Test Squadron and the C-130 Flight Test Team at Edwards is taking that same airdrop method and testing it at a whole new level and speed.

Currently called the high speed container delivery system, this new system the team is testing was designed to deliver supplies to troops on the ground from lower altitudes and higher airspeeds from a C-130J.

"The purpose of the test is to demonstrate the HSCDS airdrops from a C-130J aircraft at the altitudes and airspeeds of new Army requirements," said Chris Webber, 418th Flight Test Squadron airdrop testing lead engineer. "Edwards was chosen because this system requires developmental testing and evaluation to ensure its compatibility with the C-130J."

With testing commencing in June, the 418th FLTS began conducting the tests with the assistance from the 412th Operation Support Squadron Developmental Airdrop Rigging Shop and the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Engineering and Development Center, according to Webber.

"Part of the testing involves increasing the drop airspeed from 140 knots to 245 knots; reducing drop altitude to 250 feet above ground; and using a parachute to extract up to eight 2,000-pound supply containers which would have been gravity-dropped in the past," added Webber.

In addition to the airdrop testing, the team will evaluate how using this airdrop system will affect other areas like aircraft structural limitations and aircrew workload.

"After these initial developmental tests on the C-130J are completed, the system will go through operational test & evaluation by Air Mobility Command and the Army," Webber said. "This airdrop system is concurrently being tested on other cargo aircraft types at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona."

According to team members, the new system will not only provide speed when delivering cargo but will add safety to aircrew and the new airdrop method as well.

"HSCDS is a very unique airdrop that is combining a portion of current C-130J CDS and Low Velocity Air Drop procedures into an airdrop that will provide the warfighter a more accurate airdrop capability without putting the aircraft into a vulnerable aircraft airspeed that is currently required in these types of current airdrops," said Master Sgt. Jason Griego, SNCOIC of C-130 Flight Test Programs.

"Due to the higher speed and lower altitude of the drops, the aircraft will also be less exposed to small arms fire from adversaries on the ground, and it will be easier for aircrew to climb out over nearby steep terrain, than compared to the standard CDS airdrop system," added Webber. "This system is designed to put the supply containers closer together, closer to the desired point of impact, making the ground team's task of recovery less dangerous when in a combat zone."

In addition to the safety aspects of this new system, aircrew members have discovered efficiencies that will benefit airdrop methods, according to Griego.

"HSCDS testing has also helped to uncover an important procedural step that was being missed in C-130J operational towplate airdrops," Griego said. "Our experience in airdrop capabilities has led to a change in current loadmaster operations and could result in fewer airdrop malfunctions ensuring that warfighters get the critical airdrop supplies needed in combat operations."

HSCDS testing is expected to end in late August.


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## RetPara (Aug 7, 2012)

ehhhh.... No....  May sound good in a low anti-air threat....  C-17 coming down to 250AGL, even at 250knots....  still a BAT (Big Assed Target)


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## AWP (Aug 7, 2012)

So they are essentially conducting LAPES from a higher altitude and speed?


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## x SF med (Aug 7, 2012)

HAPES/LAPES....   What's so new about that?  We did it all the time, from 141's, 130's, 123's and other a/c-  pallet, bundle, single package.  I believe the AF was involved in those too, unless somebody stole and flew their planes.


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## talonlm (Aug 7, 2012)

Not quite as hair-raising as LAPES (since it is 240 feet higher than LAPES and is much less likely to get boogered up), a lot more accurate and CDS.  Think of it as a HSSLADS drop on steroids.  Very, very useful . . . if used correctly.


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## DA SWO (Aug 8, 2012)

RetPara said:


> ehhhh.... No.... May sound good in a low anti-air threat.... C-17 coming down to 250AGL, even at 250knots.... still a BAT (Big Assed Target)


Where did you get C-17 from?
Story says C-130J's.


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## RetPara (Aug 8, 2012)

mis type.... please edit to read FBT (Fuckin' Big Target) as opposed to BAT.


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## talonlm (Aug 8, 2012)

SOWT said:


> Where did you get C-17 from?
> Story says C-130J's.


 
I don't know definitively about the C-17; I haven't seen anything that says they're not doing it.  It doesn't seem to me to be an overly efficient or tactically smart way of doing business, but I don't see why they couldn't make the airdrop work out of one.


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