C-17 testers airdrop Army Stryker mobile gun system

af.mil ^ | 08/19/2004 | 1st Lt. Brooke Davis

[murdocj]

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- An aircrew from the C-17 Globemaster III combined test force here successfully airdropped a mobile gun system for the first time during a feasibility test Aug. 13. The system fits the Army's Stryker engineer squad vehicle.

The Army is testing the 52,500-pound system to possibly equip the armored vehicle to meet operational needs.

"There is a present need to have airdrop capability for the mobile gun system, and we performed the feasibility test to see if the impact of an airdrop is consistent with static impact testing the Army has already completed," said Alec Dyatt, 418th Flight Test Squadron C-17 CTF flight test engineer.

Before the airdrop here, the Army performed static airdrop impact tests to build a honeycomb cargo carrier for the system to absorb energy generated by a 12-foot drop, Mr. Dyatt said.

During those tests, the Stryker was equipped with strain gages to measure the forces on the vehicle after a 12-foot drop, Mr. Dyatt said.

The purpose of the feasibility airdrop was to verify if the extraction system was adequate, demonstrate the system could be extracted safely and verify there was sufficient clearance in the C-17 for it to be extracted, said Dan Jones, a 418th FLTS systems engineer.

"We built up to this test by dropping a cargo container that contained steel plates with the same mass properties as the mobile gun system (on Aug. 11)," Mr. Jones said.

The cargo container is equipped with 10 100-foot diameter parachutes that allow the container to hit the ground with the same force as if it had been dropped from 12 feet, Mr. Jones said.

During the airdrop, the cargo was pulled out of the aircraft with three 28-foot parachutes that are attached to the cargo platform, Mr. Jones said. After leaving the aircraft, 10 100-foot parachutes open, allowing the cargo to drift to the ground at about 28 feet-per-second.

"The next step after the feasibility test is to have the Stryker vehicle undergo full developmental testing, which will conclude when the Army performs three operational extractions," said Maj. Landon Henderson, 418th FLTS C-17 test director and test pilot.

[murdocj]

This could be a big development for the Stryker folks. Pic (incl. a hi-res version) at af.mil

[68skylark]

Here's a thumbnail version of the pic:

[scab4faa]

read later

[A. Morgan]

WOW!

[ken5050]

AT & T airdrop.."reach out and REALLY touch someone.."

[VOA]

C-17 testers airdrop Army Stryker mobile gun system

maybe I missed this...
but does the crew take the ride down in the unit?

[somemoreequalthanothers]

You are kidding?

[wyattearp]

Not and live. The impact and deceleration forces would break every bone in their bodies.

[VOA]

You are kidding?

Honestly, having never parachuted myself, I was asking naively.

Seeing how mobility seems to be the objective of this exercise and that the unit
already weighs in at over 50,000 pounds, I figured that it wouldn't be that big of a deal
to load the crew (and the padding/airbags to cushion them)...
thus deliver the vehicle and crew at once...in one spot.

I can understand that the "dropped from 12 feet" may mean that humans aboard ain't
gonna' happen...but couldn't help wondering...

[VOA]

Not and live. The impact and deceleration forces would break every bone in their bodies.

Thanks for the info.
I was just asking a naive civilian-that's-never-parachuted-in-my-life question.

[Snickersnee]

In the mid-1960s I was witness to a big "Hollywood" drop involving division engineer assets -- a militarized D-4 bulldozer suffered a 3-chute "streamer" after coming out of the C-133 it was pushed from. I remember the graceful arc of the dozer's trajectory, and the sound it made when it landed directly atop an M-151 jeep that had just made a perfect touchdown.

I understand the D-4 was dismantled and hauled away, and most of it actually ran again eventually. But there wasn't much they could do with the 151. Not being six inches high and all....

[Harpo Speaks]

I'd hate to be the guy on the ground waiting for the ammo to get dropped!

[RIGHT IN LAS VEGAS]

I like the up close and personal view

I like the up close and personal view

[somemoreequalthanothers]

I was not trying to be rude, but I had a good chuckle over it. :)

[somemoreequalthanothers]

From a former heavy equipment operator....what a waste of a perfectly good D4......

[VOA]

I was not trying to be rude, but I had a good chuckle over it. :)

Not to worry...I didn't think you were being rude.

Not having "chuted" myself, I wasn't sure if that "drop from 12 feet" stat
ruled out the human factor.

I guess I've seen too many movies where the human body defies the cruel truth of physics!

[somemoreequalthanothers]

I have never jumped either (they would probably have to kick me out the first time) but I picture me sitting in a 25 ton truck and free falling 12 feet, and all I could envision is......goo.

[Dinsdale]

Just for the record Russian airborn armor and guns ARE deployed with crew on board.

[VOA]

Just for the record Russian airborn armor and guns ARE deployed with crew on board.

Maybe that's (one reason) why Russians conscripts have lots of complaints!!!

[TexasCowboy]

"and all I could envision is......goo."

All I can envision is a medicine cabinet full of Preparation H.