What's New

Airborne Systems Showcases New Parachute Technologies to
Egyptian Airborne Special Forces

Lt Col Mharz Abdel Wahab Mhraz evaluates the advanced Raider / Intruder Parachute System

Egyptian Special Forces - Brigadier Ahmed Mohamed Ali, Lt Col Nader Ezz, Lt Col Alaa Mohamed Amen, Lt Col Mharz Abdel Wahab Mhraz visit with Airborne Systems personnel at the jump site

Eloy, AZ (April 30, 2008) Airborne Systems, held a special  demonstration event for the Egyptian Special Forces, providing them with the opportunity to view some of the worlds most advanced parachute products.

The Egyptians received first hand experience with the latest high performance military parachute technology by test jumping the Raider/Intruder System, the most advanced ram-air system which is currently under evaluation as a candidate for the replacement of the U.S. Army’s MC-4 Ram Air Parachute System.

One of the highlights of the event allowed the Egyptians to view a remote demonstration of “smart” cargo delivery technology which can be used to re-supply troops in remote, hazardous locations. Airborne Systems’ family of JPADS (Joint Precision Aerial Delivery System) platforms utilizes GPS (Global Positioning Systems) to “steer” the cargo to the target location. The company developed a series of these precision cargo delivery systems for use with varying weights and sizes using the same software platform. With this “family” approach, the user interface on the Autonomous Guidance Units and the Mission Planer are identical across the various models of “smart” cargo delivery products.  

“We appreciate the opportunity to work with this elite Egyptian Special Forces”, said Elizabeth Johnson, Executive Vice President of Sales. “This was a great way to demonstrate our capabilities as a one-stop shopping, global solutions provider for advanced military parachute products”.

New Joint Precision Aerial Delivery Systems (JPADS) - MicroFly, FireFly Dragon Fly, MegaFly

Only Airborne Systems offers a family of GPS Cargo delivery systems using a common guidance system.

JPADS: The development of JPADS (Joint Precision Aerial Delivery Systems) has accelerated with a common software platform for all Airborne Systems JPADS products. The user interfaces on the Autonomous Guidance Units and the Mission Planer are identical for all Airborne Systems GPS guided cargo delivery products - the MicroFly (100-800 lb), FireFly (1,000-2,200 lb), DragonFly (8,000-10,000 lb) and MegaFly (20,000 - 30,000 lb).  This commonality ensures optimal system performance and minimizes user training requirements. 

MicroFly (New product): Advancements in GPS technology and in MicroFly's algorithm development continue to increase the precision and accuracy of this autonomous guided system. The MicroFly will land on a designated road within 75 meters of the desired touch down point

FireFly / DragonFly Systems: (New products) The Airborne Systems developed Airborne Guidance Unit (AGU) can be programmed to the needs of the user. The AGU adopts a unique approach and landing strategy that guides the Firefly/Dragonfly system to land on a user-specified roadway coordinate and heading. The roadway landing area can be any area that is 200 meters long by 40 meters wide for most wind profiles. This equates to a 75% reduction in Landing Zone required area when compared to Circular Error Probability (CEP). This type of landing strategy also increases the total number of suitable Landing Zones, more desirable locations / proximities, as well as increasing the time to recover.

After extensive test and evaluation, the US Army has selected the Para-Flite FireFly system as their 2K selection.

MegaFly: (New) MegaFly is the largest ram-air canopy ever built, with a surface area of almost 10,000 ft 2 and over eight kilometers of suspension lines. The span of the canopy from wingtip to wingtip is over 170 feet, approximately 20 feet less than the wingspan of a Boeing 747. After being dropped at altitudes as high as 25,000 feet, the MegaFly will be able to fly itself to a designated point on the ground up to 22 kilometers away. The MegaFly will be used to increase the safety and accuracy of missions involving aerial delivery of large payloads. The first test drop of 20,000 lb in October was successful and the record breaking drop of 30,000 lbs in December 2007 was also a success. The test was conducted as part of a US Army Natick Soldier Research Development & Engineering Center development program.

Irvin Aerospace to Supply Orion Landing Parachutes Irvin Aerospace, which specializes in parachute design and engineering, will develop landing parachutes for NASA's planned Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, according to a Nov. 3 press release from the Santa Ana, Calif., company. The $21 million contract is for over five years, according to Gary Calvaneso, Vice President of Marketing for Irvin Aerospace. The parachute assembly system will be ready for testing in approximately six months, the release said. After this, the company does qualification testing and developmental flight tests, which last for the remainder of the contract, Calveneso said. The company also is working with NASA's Langley Research Center to explore whether an airbag-based landing system might be appropriate for use on Orion, the release said. Irvin has also received a $12 million program from Rocketplane Kistler to do parachute development for the commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, Calvaneso said.

The Airborne Systems Group Presents: AIRBORNE DAYS  -  FEB 10-11, 2007 AT ELOY Experience the most advanced Aerial Delivery Technology in a single event. Click here for more details.

New Advanced Tactical Parachute System (ATPS) selected to replace the US Army T10 ATPS: PARA-FLITE SYSTEM SELECTED FOR ATPS - Advanced Tactical Parachute System: A US Government technical evaluation has resulted in the selection of Para-Flite MTR-1 main parachute to move forward into ATPS Pre-Production Qualification Testing and ultimately replace the US Army T10 Parachute System. Developed to be the most advanced concept in mass troop insertion, the MTR1-C is a static line deployed parachute which offers significant improvement in stability and rate-of-descent.  

Irvin SF-10A Canopy Selected for New Special Operation Forces Tactical Advanced Parachute System (SOFTAPS) SOFTAPS: IRVIN US SF-10A PARACHUTE SELECTED FOR Special Operation Forces Tactical Advanced Parachute System "SOFTAPS". This parachute will be called the MC-6 when it goes into service. The SF-10A canopy has been integrated with the new ATPS personnel harness and reserve parachute by the US Army. As the new MC-6, this SOFTAPS system offers a very maneuverable, stable static line deployed personnel parachute in a state-of-the-art harness and reserve. The new MC-6 will replace the current MC1 series parachute. The SF-10A will continue to be available in its current configuration.

SF-10N DEVELOPED to meet Unique Customer Requirements SF-10N: Irvin US and Irvin-GQ have teamed together to develop the SF-10N parachute system. The SF-10N integrates the SF-10A canopy into the Irvin-GQ LLP harness and reserve parachute system. This combination has been fully qualified and is now offered as an additional option to our meet the unique requirements of our customers. The SF-10 canopy is available in the following configurations: SF-10A, SF-10N and MC-6/SOFTAPS. Airborne Systems will continue to work together to provide our customers worldwide the combined benefits of each of our leading parachute companies.

IRVIN-GQ Acquisition of Advanced Inflatable Products"AIP" AIP Acquisition: Airborne Systems has added further strengths, new products and customer benefits to its family of companies with the acquisition of Advanced Inflatable Products. AIP based in Essex, UK. AIP specializes in the field of balloon and inflatable structures, many of which are used to dispatch troop paratroopers for training purposes. Balloon training provides a cost effective method of introducing front line forces to the demanding role of parachute assault. For more information on this acquisition go to What's New - Press Releases .