Page 19 - Australian Defence Magazine April 2020

APRIL 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
DEFENCE BUSINESS ANTARCTIC AIR DROP 19
first drop used On-Call methodology and the crew then re- positioned for a Rapid DZ, for which we gave them the drop zone survey just prior to launching, and then they performed a JPADS drop.”
JPADS AND LCADS
JPADS is already in use with the RAAF, being employed by both the C-17A and C-130J Hercules and will soon be cleared for use by the C-27J Spartan.
The system is essentially a kit fitted to a standard contain- er delivery system (CDS). It uses a GPS system which re- ceives up to date information from the aircraft before release and is aided by steerable parachutes. It is capable of being dropped up to 24,000ft and suitable for retrieval and re-use. The drop on the January 27 mission occurred from 10,000ft and landed within 30 metres of its intended target.
LCADS is widely used by the US Air Force, but has only recently been acquired by the ADF, in small numbers, for use in trials. It uses low-cost parachutes which arrive from the manufacturer pre-packed and are intended to be a one- shot delivery system.
The system comes in two forms - a low velocity parachute typically dropped between 1,000ft and 3,000ft; and a high velocity parachute, which can be employed between 3,000ft and 25,000ft,” explained Wing Commander Cameron Clarke, Commanding Officer of the RAAF’s Air Movements Training and Development Unit (AMTDU). “The nominal profile in Antarctica would be the high velocity LCADS dropped from around 3,000ft, which provide a safety buffer
for surrounding terrain and – because the HV system is in the air column for a shorter period - improved accuracy.
CLEAN AND ACCURATE
“The real benefit is that LCADS is purchased as a ‘plug and play’ system, which comes already packed from the manu- facturer and we attach it to a load and drop it. Because it is a low-cost ‘one shot’ system it allows the AAD to bag them up as rubbish and send them back to Australia on the ship and they don’t have any specialised handling requirements on the ice.
“The other reason they’re very attractive is, because they are a brand-new parachute every time, they are very clean.”
This latter point is very important in pristine environ- ments such as Antarctica and in the lead up to the January 27 mission, AMTDU and Army’s 176 Dispatch Squadron (who assemble many of the loads) partnered with the AAD to develop procedures for loads which will be dropped onto the ice. This included measures such as sterilising hangar floors where the loads are built up and then wrapping it in plastic.
“We’re developing procedures now that are not just appli- cable to Antarctica, there are other pristine environments in our region where we may want to conduct resupply – in Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations for example,” WGCDR Clarke said. “We will now have best practices to ensure against biosecurity hazards.” ■
ABOVE: The new JPADS packing system will be cleared for all RAAF aircraft very soon.
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