Precision Airdrop Technology Conference and Demonstration (4th) 2007

Abstract

This report summarizes the 4th Biennial Precision Airdrop Technology Conference and Demonstration (PATCAD) conducted at the United States (US) Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), from 22 to 25 October 2007. The US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) was the primary sponsor. The first part of PATCAD 2007 consisted of a one-day conference at the Yuma Civic and Convention Center, where presentations were provided by participants. The Director, Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) also provided a keynote address on "Technical Insertion Opportunities Through Rapid Prototyping", and industry participants provided displays of their airdrop systems and components. The purpose of the PATCAD is to bring together allied militaries, governments, and industry to collaborate on and become familiar with the latest airdrop technologies. PATCAD 2007 provided a forum for the international community of industry and government agencies involved in the development and utilization of precision aerial delivery technologies to share experiences, facilitate communication and collaboration pursuant to common technical requirements, and witness demonstrations of the state-of-the-art and emerging capabilities in precision airdrop. The demonstration was an opportunity to view systems of various technology readiness levels. The airdrop demonstration portion of PATCAD 2007 was conducted at the YPG LaPosa drop zone (DZ) using two C-130s and a C-17 provided by the US Air Force (USAF) Air Mobility Command (AMC) and a contracted International Air Response (IAR) C-130 aircraft. These aircraft flew 14 sorties over a three-day period and dropped a total of 157 systems, paratroopers, and dropsondes from altitudes of 5,000 to 17,500 feet mean sea level (MSL). The total rigged weight (TRW) of airdropped payloads ranged from 5 pounds to 25,200 pounds, and offset distances reached as far as 7 kilometers (km).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA488396

Entities

People

  • Andrew Meloni
  • Jamie Bishop
  • Richard Benney

Organizations

  • United States Army Soldier Systems Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Human Systems
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Delivery
  • Air Drop Operations
  • Air Force
  • Aircraft Industry
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Composite Materials
  • Computers
  • Control Systems
  • Department Of Defense
  • Engineering
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Measurement
  • Navigation
  • Personnel Management
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Academic Conference Management
  • Aerial Delivery - Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.