Air drop way ahead

By WGCDR Bob Rodgers
Volume 48, No. 8, May 18, 2006

Left to right: FLGOFF Ben Allen, SGT Nev Causby, SQNLDR Matt Tevelen, FLTLT Jeff Vella, BRIG Darren McDew, WOFF Craig Veitch and SQNLDR Shane Prior with their re-supply award.

THE Hercules aircraft reached an exciting milestone last month with the first parachute resupply by a C-130J.

The drop, which took place in Afghanistan, was recognised by the Central Command Air Force’s Director of Military Forces, Brigadier Darren McDew, with the presentation of an award to the crew.

Commander of the task group, WGCDR Glen Coy, said that the “…airdrop planning and excellent Coalition support were the keys to the success of the mission”.

The airdrop was planned and executed by personnel from our task group, while the aircraft was captained by FLTLT Jeff Vella and the loadmasters for the sortie, SGT Nev Causby and WOFF Craig Veitch, conducted the honours.

WGCDR Coy said, “The mission was executed safely, efficiently and accurately by a crew with minimum airdrop experience and therefore validated the adequacy of C-130J training and also the concept of the Assured Re-supply mission.”

The Assured Re-supply concept was developed by 86WG staff in response to the challenges created by operating in a broad range of environments.

Winter in Afghanistan is a world away from the environments experienced in Australia, so adapting to that environment is vital to ensure that ADF operations are suitably supported. From the Air Force perspective, unsealed runways are particularly susceptible to the effects of ice and snow.

The Assured Re-supply concept is achieved through the use of a Container Delivery System, or CDS. The CDS is the most commonly used method for aerial insertion of supplies for military operations.

The stores are secured in a canvas container which is in turn secured on a square plywood board, allowing it to be rolled out of the aircraft.

A parachute is normally attached to the load though it is not often used for unbreakable stores and parachutes and containers can be recovered for reuse.

As a result of the drop, the C-130J and its crews have proven that the use of the CDS capability will continue to be a vital part of ADF re-supply operations.

WGCDR Coy said, “The drop accuracy was assessed as good and comparable to results achieved by other coalition units using an airdrop system of re-supply.”

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