By Scott R. Gourley

U.S. military warfighters have already begun to benefit from Future Force logistics delivery through the recent introduction of the Joint precision airdrop system (JPADS) in combat. Integrating guided, high altitude parachute systems with a precision mission planning system, JPADS provides a range of Joint service warfighter benefits including mitigating time and distance barriers, increasing aircrew/aircraft and load survivability, minimizing detectability of troops on the ground, permitting smaller and more numerous drop zones and, as a future capability, allowing the delivery of multiple loads to multiple drop zones from a single release point.

JPADS envisions a common mission planner used to deliver a family of gliding parachute decelerators, delivering cargo in four weight categories: extra light (500 to 2,200 pounds), light (500 to 10,000 pounds), medium (Army technology objective program—up to 30,000 pounds), and heavy (42,000 to 60,000 pounds—currently unfunded).

As examples at the high end of JPADS, the medium and heavy systems would be used for the delivery of cargo, ranging from an ISO container roll-out platform or Stryker/Future Combat System, respectively. Moreover, while these impressively heavy capabilities are being explored and developed for the support of future military forces, systems at the extra light end of the JPADS spectrum have already been deployed in support of special operations, including Marine Corps and Army resupply operations in combat theaters.

According to Richard Benney, division leader for the Aerial Delivery Equipment and Systems Division at the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, the program currently encompasses several different decelerators in the extra light weight class that are being used operationally, with a small number used by the Marine Corps in Iraq since 2004 and more than 50 systems employed in Afghanistan since the first drop to Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF)-76 in August 2006. Benney said that the systems fielded to CJTF-76 were provided in response to a classified operational need statement (ONS) dated February 2006.

Through a new ONS, at least 100 more are on contract, according to Benney.

Benney said that the initial rapid combat fieldings in the extra light weight class included the Sherpa system—used by the Marine Corps—from MMIST (Ottawa, Canada) and the Screamer system—used by the Army/CJTF-76—made by Strong Enterprises (Orlando, Fla). The Army's formal program of record in this class, which is administered by the Army's Product Manager for Force Sustainment Systems (PM FSS), is a system called Firefly from Airborne Systems North America (Pennsauken, N.J.).

"Firefly has not been used operationally yet," Benney noted. "But it probably will be within nine months to a year under an urgent material release as part of the recent ONS. And that's before hitting Milestone C [formal production decision], which is scheduled to take place in late fiscal year (FY) 2008."

While the Army is the lead service for the decelerators in the extra light weight class and above, he said that the Marine Corps is "leading a 'soon-to-be program,' with a solicitation ... for what we call an ultra light system that will deliver between 150 and 700 pounds and likely be compatible with existing military free-fall (MFF) parachutes."

Benney emphasized that every one of the weight category systems is linked to a common Mission Planner, which is increasingly being used to provide greater accuracy for high altitude ballistic (dumb) airdrops (nearly 500,000 pounds per month).

"Natick has actually been helping the Air Force develop the JPADS Mission Planner from Science & Technology (S&T) and it has been making the transition to the Air Force over the last two years," he said. "That's used to determine your high altitude release point—your computed area release point (CARP)—and that has been used for ballistic systems and military free-fall systems. It is wirelessly linked to all of the different self-guided JPADS systems in all weight categories including soon-to-be fielded MFF heads-up display systems."

Benney explained that the prime contractor for the Mission Planner is Planning Systems Incorporated (PSI) (Reston, Va.) with a software package developed by a combination of PSI, the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (Cambridge, Mass.), and even some government-furnished software delivered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth Science Research Lab (Boulder, Colo.).

"The Mission Planner is already linked to every JPADS system that is in S&T," he said. "It's also linked for any kind of high altitude airdrop capability, including what we call the improved container delivery system (ICDS), standard 26-foot ring slot and G-12 parachute systems. So it gives you much better weather information and a much better CARP, all linked with the FalconView map overlay, and in transition to the [U. S. Air Force] Electronic Systems Command (software) for linkage into the Joint mission planning system and the Aeronautical Systems Command (hardware)." He added that the Mission Planner was also given to some special operations users in late 2004, and those elements began to use it operationally in 2005 for computing a better release point in military free-fall operations. "These users consider the JPADS Mission Planner to be mission essential equipment," he said.

Along with those previously noted, Benney said that other near-term JPADS activities will focus on the light weight class, for which program participants recently completed the last of three planned Joint military utility assessments (JMUAs) for under 10,000 pounds. The Office of the Secretary of Defense Advanced Systems & Concepts sponsored an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (for which U.S. Joint Forces Command is the Combatant Command sponsor). Based on the success of the Joint military utility assessment, Force Sustainment System's representatives expect to release a solicitation for that class this summer.

"You'll also see many more Screamers in Afghanistan, and likely many Fireflys will begin to pop up in theater by the middle of the next fiscal year," Benney said. "I think we will also enter operational testing for the extra light and get to type classification toward the end of FY 2008. The 10,000 [light] will also be in development testing and, it is hoped, enter operational testing toward the end of FY 2008 or early FY 2009. The 30,000 is still an Army technology objective that completes in FY 2008 and makes the transition to PM FSS where a formal program of record might start in FY 2009 or FY 2010."

In terms of JPADS' significance to today's warfighters, Benney pointed to multiple benefits.

"One is that we are able to get the aircrew and any transport aircraft from which you can jump or drop payloads out of the primary threat by giving them altitude," he said. "Our threshold requirement is to be able to drop from at least 24,500 feet, which puts them out of most of the manportable 'triple A' types of threats."

He pointed to the importance of that separation by noting that in FY 2006 "at least three air mobility aircraft were hit by small arms fire while doing airdrop combat operations in Afghanistan. But since we started doing ICDS ballistic systems and the Screamer systems with the Mission Planner, they have not been hit yet.

This rapid combat fielding, which has been cited for saving soldiers' lives, has enormous support and was kick-started with a push from Gen. Duncan McNabb, U.S. Air Force commander, Air Mobility Command, who embraced JPADS and has been a huge proponent."

Benney continued: "Another benefit to today's warfighter is the ability to more accurately hit the desired target(s) even if the cargo is dropped at low altitude, because with the guided—and even with the ballistic—systems, we are getting better accuracies from higher altitudes. The guy on the ground doesn't have to secure as large a drop zone and is able to get his supplies faster than he would by convoy, while using niche convoys for smaller forward operating bases and folks in distress off the road. Eventually, as the guided systems with offset capabilities come about, we can release all loads at one point and hit multiple targets on the ground, resupplying multiple units on a dispersed battlefield from one sortie."

Benney concluded by emphasizing the Joint service aspects of JPADS.

"JPADS is an Army lead, but it's a Joint program and, quite honestly, everyone in the community—airdrop being a small community but starting to expand with drops to nonairborne units all the time now—is participating in a great partnership. Everybody is bringing something to the table, participating and sharing information on all levels. The relatively small successes to date have only been possible through the trust and partnerships across the DoD airdrop community."