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The US Army Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) has been working in conjunction with the US Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), the Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) Office, and the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) to develop an effective way to deliver medical supplies and equipment to soldiers in need in remote locations throughout the world. The Joint Medical Distance Support and Evacuation (JMDSE) Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) was funded to address the military need for a combat casualty care capability. This capability will provide a precise, logistical delivery method that significantly enhances land, air, and sea emergency medical response procedures. The JMDSE JCTD encompasses a family of systems that can deliver 10-700lbs of usable cargo. The systems are broken down into the Micro Light Weight (MLW) class which includes systems that can deliver 10-170lbs, the Ultra Light Weight (ULW) class which includes systems that can deliver 250-700lbs, and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) variant which includes any system that can be dropped from a UAV. Airdrop testing of the MLW, ULW, and UAV variant systems was conducted from 3,000 to 24,500 ft Mean Sea Level (MSL) on many military and commercial aircraft.

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).

The US Army Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM), Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) have teamed with all Department of Defense (DoD) services and organizations with interest in programs and investments in Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS) technology and systems. These organizations include: Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) to include: Joint Staff (JS); Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ALT); Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E), Advanced Systems and Concepts (AS&C), Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), US Air Force Air Mobility Command (USAF AMC), USAF Air Mobility Warfare Center (AMWC), the US Army Product Manager Force Sustainment Systems (PM-FSS), US Marine Corps (USMC), US Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and many other government agencies and contractors to plan and execute JPADS programs. This paper will provide an overview of some of the DoD JPADS programs to include: Results of the JPADS Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD), recent Joint Military Utility Assessment (JMUA) # 2, The US Army Formal Program of Record (PoR) for the JPADS Extra Light (700-2200lb capability), Rapid Combat Fielding (RCFs) Initiatives for JPADS 2,200lb systems and early results and lessons learned from Combat Operations, the recently started Wireless Gate Release System (WGRS), and related precision airdrop activities within NATO.