View From The Top>>Precision saves lives

By Lt. Col. Ashley Salter
34th Combat Training Squadron director of operations

In the opening days of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, Special Operations Forces called on U.S. Air Force crews for critical resupply in the most remote regions of Afghanistan. Although a core competency for the Air Force, the airdrop results were less than stellar. Enemy fire forced tactical aircrews to fly at altitudes higher than those for which they had trained. Just as an archer adds error to his aim with greater distance from the target, aircrews added error by climbing away from the threat. Airdrop loads released above weapons range sometimes landed as much as a half-mile from the goal. This proved doubly dangerous to troops on the ground: at best it meant a perilous journey under fire to recover the loads; at worst it resupplied the enemy. To achieve the needed precision, Air Mobility Command and the U.S. Army joined forces to quickly build and field the Joint Precision Aerial Delivery System.

JPADS combines navigational computer software that determines a highly accurate location to release the airdrop load and a Global Positioning Satellite guided, steerable parachute to maneuver the load to the drop zone. Aircrews remain out of reach for insurgents on the ground and airdrop loads reach the teams that need them.

Using the JPADS computer, C-130 crews improved high-altitude airdrop accuracy by 56 percent and C-17 crews increased their accuracy an impressive 70 percent. In addition to these achievements, the capability to deliver supplies by air to remote forward operating bases has reduced the need for hazardous ground convoys and the inherent exposure to road side bombs.

The joint development and employment of JPADS is a great example of inter-service teamwork at its best and one way that AMC is saving U.S. lives while prosecuting the Global War on Terrorism.