Airborne Systems is a world leader in the design and manufacture of parachutes for military personnel, JPADS / cargo delivery systems, delivery platforms, air droppable safety and survival equipment, as well safety and rescue harnesses. The company also provides space and air vehicle recovery systems, deceleration systems for high-performance aircraft, deceleration systems for high-performance aircraft, naval decoys, airbags, and weapons delivery systems.
Airborne Systems has combined the core technologies of four world leading parachute brands: Irvin Aerospace, GQ Parachutes, Para-Flite and AML. The company has offices and manufacturing facilities in Pennsauken, NJ; Santa Ana, CA; Belleville, ONTC; and Llangeinor, UK.
Joint precision aerial delivery systems (JPADS)
Airborne Systems’ JPADS precision-guided parachute delivery systems use global positioning system (GPS) and a guidance, navigation and control system to accurately fly themselves to a designated location point on the ground. Using a gliding ram-air parachute, these systems can land a significant distance from their point of release. This distance keeps the deploying aircrew safe and reduces the vulnerability of the ground troops receiving the supplies.
Only Airborne Systems offers a family of JPADS cargo delivery systems using a common guidance system. The family of systems delivers loads from 200lb to 30,000lb (90kg to 13,608kg). Airborne Systems is the only company to successfully deliver a 42,000lb (19,000kg) cargo.
Airborne Systems’ 2K FireFly™ and 10K DragonFly™ JPADS systems were selected by the US Army as their standard for 2K and 10K JPADS.
Troop parachutes
Designed by AirborneSystems, the T-11 is the most advanced non-steerable troop parachute system in the world. The US Army is currently in the process of replacing more than 52,000 T-10 parachute systems with the new T-11. Slower rates of descent and decreased oscillation under canopy will result in fewer jumper injuries and greater equipment carrying capacity for the modern warfighter.
MC-6 steerable parachute
Designed for precision infiltration of Airborne Forces, the MC-6 features the latest in advanced design for steerable troop parachutes. The MC-6 utilizes the same SF-10A canopy that has been in use by US special operations. In service for over ten years, the SF-10A has proven itself to be a safe and reliable design.
Hi performance ram-air parachute systems
The Intruder is a revolutionary ram-air parachute system designed to fly further,
carry more, and land softly. Designed for military use from its inception, the Raider Intruder is a freefall / static-line convertible ram-air system. The Raider Intruder system consists of the Raider harness container and the Intruder main and reserve canopies.
The HiGlide freefall ram-air parachute system is designed for use in mission-specific applications, primarily for HAHO operations. With a 6:1 glide ratio, the HiGlide canopy has the highest glide ratio of any military parachute in the world.
Parachutists’ oxygen systems
Designed to meet the high altitude parachutist’s mission requirements, the PHAOS and OXCON are the only certified systems that deliver a complete qualified solution for high altitude parachutists.
Maritime craft aerial delivery systems (MCADS)
Ideal for use in special operations missions, the PRIBAD and PURIBAD systems enable rigid inflatable boats to be parachute-dropped into the water, ready for immediate use. A range of platform configurations can accommodate boats from 6.5m to 11m (21.32ft to 36ft) in length. The platforms are compatible with C130, C17, C5 and the future A400M aircraft.
Cargo delivery parachutes
Airborne Systems has a number of low-cost parachute products which are a low cost alternative to current, in-service cargo aerial delivery systems (CADS) and is ideally suited for humanitarian relief, medical and food supply, troop re-supply, delivery of supplies into water or heavily wooded areas.
Parachute releases
Designed to release more consistently in high wind conditions, the Airborne Systems family of parachute releases separates the parachute from its cargo upon delivery and eliminates the possibility of the cargo be dragged or tipped over in high winds and / or adverse weather conditions.
Rescue, safety and survival
Airborne Systems provides a variety of rescue, safety and survival equipment:
- Aerial Rescue Kit (ARK) is a hand-launched life saving system, which delivers life rafts, complete with survival equipment inside, to survivors in the water
- Survival Kit Air Droppable (SKAD) is an aircraft-mounted survival kit that provides highly reliable and accurate aerial delivery of survival equipment
- Small Pack Aerial Response Kit (SPARK) is a system which provides a hand launched search and rescue aerial deliverable first response packet to survivors awaiting rescue