Army looking to double number of JLTVs it can airdrop from C-17

By Ashley Tressel / May 15, 2020 at 1:20 PM

The Army is conducting a three-year project, funded by U.S. Transportation Command, to develop a capability that would allow the service to airdrop four Joint Light Tactical Vehicles from a C-17 aircraft, doubling the current capability.

The Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center in Natick, MA, is leading the project.

The current C-17 Dual Row Airdrop System for humvees uses "side-by-side logistics rail/lock systems" to carry eight humvees on a single aircraft, according to a notice posted last month. But the current system for the JLTV, the larger and heavier replacement for the humvee, can only tote two JLTVs. That system is the conventional Low Velocity Airdrop System, which "uses a standard, 24-foot, Type V airdrop platform."

The Army is considering two approaches to increase the number of JLTVs per C-17 from two to four under the "Gravity Airdrop System," or GADS, capability, according to the notice.

The first approach is to increase the current DRAS capability, while the second approach involves using the conventional airdrop rail system to gravity airdrop the JLTV on a platform shorter than the standard 24-foot platform.

Both options come with their challenges, which are detailed in the request for project proposals.

"Drawings of the JLTV can be made available to U.S. contractors after completing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the JLTV Joint Program Office," the notice states.

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