An airdrop is a type of
airlift in which items including
weapons, equipment,
humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and v ...
or
leaflets are delivered by
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...
or
civilian aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. ...
without their
landing. Developed during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
to resupply otherwise inaccessible
troops, themselves often
airborne forces, airdrops can also refer to the airborne assault itself.
History
Early airdrops were conducted by dropping or pushing padded bundles from aircraft. Later, small crates fitted with
parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...
s were pushed out of aircraft side cargo doors. Later,
cargo aircraft were designed with rear access ramps, lowerable in flight, that allowed large platforms to be rolled out the back.
As aircraft grew larger, the
U.S. Air Force and
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
developed ''low-level extraction'', allowing vehicles like
light tanks,
armored personnel carriers
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world.
Acc ...
and other large supplies to be delivered.
Propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
leaflets are another commonly airdropped item.
Airdrops evolved to include massive bombs as payload. The 15,000-pound (6,800 kg)
BLU-82, nicknamed the "Daisy Cutter" for its ability to turn a dense forest into a helicopter landing zone in a single blast, was used in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and more recently in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
. The 22,600-pound (10,250 kg)
GBU-43/B, nicknamed the "Mother Of All Bombs", was deployed to the
Persian Gulf for the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
. Cargo aircraft like the
C-130 or
C-17
The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...
serve as
bombers to deliver these
palletized airdropped weapons.
In 2021, the
Air Force Research Laboratory successfully demonstrated the
Rapid Dragon palletized cruise missile deployment system that is characterized as “a bomb bay in a box” that could allow cargo transport aircraft to act as standoff cruise missile carriers, safely staying out of a threat zone and launching a mass of standoff weapons such as the 500kg warhead
JASSM-ER (), JASSM-XR () or
JDAM-ER (). The self-contained and disposable launch system can be loaded and deployed like a conventional palletized airdrop before the parachuted module deploys its missiles with preprogramed coordinates or targeting data transmitted from allied units. The module requires no additional training and the aircraft can resume its mission as a transportation vehicle after the system is launched out the cargo bay.
In
peacekeeping
Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare.
Within the United N ...
and
humanitarian
Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...
operations, food and medical supplies are often airdropped from
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
and other aircraft.
Types
The type of airdrop refers to the way that the airdrop load descends to the ground. There are several types of airdrop, and each may be carried out using different methods.
"FM 10-500-1 Principles of Airdrop Supply and Resupply Operations", GlobalSecurity.org
/ref>
* Low-Velocity Airdrop is the delivery of a load involving parachutes that are designed to slow the load down as much as possible, ensuring that it impacts the ground with minimal force. This type of airdrop is used for delicate equipment and larger items such as vehicles.
* High-Velocity Airdrop is the delivery of a load involving a parachute meant to stabilize its fall. The parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...
will slow the load, though not to the extent of a low-velocity airdrop. High-velocity airdrops are used for durable items like military ready-to-eat meals. The Low-Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES) is a variation of the high-velocity drop in which aircraft come close to carrying out a touch-and-go landing
In aviation, a touch-and-go landing (TGL) or circuit is a maneuver that is common when learning to fly a fixed-wing aircraft. It involves landing on a runway and taking off again without coming to a full stop. Usually the pilot then circles the a ...
without actually touching the ground, ejecting their load at an extremely low altitude (as shown in the photo below of a C-130 airdropping a tank).
* Free-Fall Airdrop is an airdrop with no parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...
at all. A common example of this type of airdrop is the delivery of airborne leaflet propaganda used in psychological warfare
Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations ( MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and ...
.
Methods
The method of airdrop refers to the way the load leaves the aircraft. There are three main airdrop methods currently used in military operations.
* Auto Extraction airdrops use an extraction parachute to ''pull'' the load out of the end of the aircraft: the parachute is deployed behind the aircraft, pulling the load out before cargo parachutes slow its descent. Extraction drops are usually low-velocity airdrops, with rare exceptions (e.g. LAPES).
* Manual Extraction airdrops, where the load is physically pushed out of an aircraft by a specially trained crew of up to four people.
* Gravity airdrops use the attitude
Attitude may refer to:
Philosophy and psychology
* Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value
* Metaphysics of presence
* Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a prop ...
of the aircraft at time of drop to cause loads to roll out of the plane like a sled down a hill. The most common use of a gravity airdrop is the Container Delivery System (CDS) bundle.
* Door bundle drops are the simplest of airdrop methods: the loadmaster simply pushes out the load at the appropriate time.
Historically, bomber aircraft
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...
were often used to drop supplies, using special supply canisters compatible with the aircraft's bomb attachment system. During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, German bomber aircraft dropped containers called ''Versorgungsbomben'' (provisions bombs) to supply friendly troops on the ground. The British equivalent was the CLE Canister
The CLE Canister, or CLE Container was a standardized cylindrical container used by the British during World War 2 to airdrop supplies to troops on the ground. The name initially derived from the Central Landing Establishment that developed them ...
that could carry up to of supplies or weapons. Notably, British and American bombers air-dropped weapons to the Polish Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. During the Dutch famine of 1944-1945, British and American bombers dropped food on the Netherlands
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, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
to feed civilians in danger of starvation; an agreement was made with Germany not to fire on the airdrop aircraft.
File:Airdrop pallets.jpg, Gravity airdrop of CDS bundles from a C-17
The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...
File:C-130 airdrop.jpg, Extraction airdropping a light tank
A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of ...
File:Aid airdrop over Mirebalais 2010-01-21 3.JPG, Airdropped humanitarian supplies being recovered in Haiti, 2010
File:C-17 Airdrop 4 Humvees + 50 Paratroopers.ogv, Video of an airdrop of Humvees and paratroopers
A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachuting, parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne forces, airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used ...
from inside a C-17 Globemaster III
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-667-7133-03, Russland, Verpflegungsabwurfkiste.jpg, Food supply crate mounted under a German He 111 bomber, 1944
See also
* List of paratrooper forces
Many countries around the world maintain military units that are trained as paratroopers. These include special forces units that are parachute-trained, as well as non-special forces units.
Abkhazia
* Independent Special Purpose Detachment ('' ...
* 395 Air Despatch Troop RLC
395 (Parachute) Air Despatch Troop, later 395 Air Despatch Troop, was the single Army Reserve Air Dispatch Troop of the British Army from its formation 1967 to its disbandment in 2014. It was part of the Royal Corps of Transport 1967 - 1993 a ...
* Airborne leaflet propaganda
* Airbridge
* Airmail
* Delivery drone
* Joint Precision Airdrop System
The Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS) is an American military airdrop system which uses the Global Positioning System (GPS), steerable parachutes, and an onboard computer to steer loads to a designated point of impact (PI) on a drop zone (DZ). ...
(JPADS)
* Loadmaster
* Paratrooper
* Winged tank
** BMD-1#Air-drop_techniques
References
*
*
External links
{{Commons category, Cargo air drops
47 Air Despatch Sqn RLC
The British Army's only remaining unit specialising in airdrop.
Airdrop of Supplies and Equipment: Rigging Loads for Special Operations
Headquarters, Department of the Army, United States Marine Corps, Department of the Navy, Department of the Air Force.
Airborne warfare
Military transport
Parachuting
Articles containing video clips