The US Army's airborne forces are set to field a new fighting load system known as the Airborne Tactical Assault Panel (ABN-TAP), which has been designed for paratroopers.

ABN-TAP is expected to allow soldiers to place the fighting load under the parachute harness but below the reserve parachute during airborne infiltration operations.

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US Army Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate (ABNSOTD) Test NCO sergeant 1st Class Ian Seymour said: "This will allow paratroopers to properly adjust the T-11 parachute harness to their specific sizing requirements and keep the T-11 reserve parachute handle well within reach.”

The ABN-TAP is claimed to be similar to the old load bearing system (LBE) that was used with the T-10 and MC1-1 parachute systems.

Previous fighting load systems did not allow a proper fit for the T-11 main parachute harness and moved the T-11 reserve activation handle further away from the paratrooper's grasp.

"The ABN-TAP was developed with the paratrooper in mind, and will allow the paratrooper a greater degree of comfort, mobility and safety during static line airborne infiltration operations."

US Army Soldier Systems Center laboratories official Rich Landry said: "The ABN-TAP was developed with the paratrooper in mind, and will allow the paratrooper a greater degree of comfort, mobility and safety during static line airborne infiltration operations.”

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Airborne paratroopers are currently conducting operational trials using the ABN-TAP solution, and the information collected will be used to support the evaluation of the fighting load system when worn during static line airborne operations and follow-on missions.

Soldiers also took part in new equipment training (NET) before beginning the test procedures, which included familiarisation with the system, fitting and proper rigging of the ABN-TAP with the T-11 parachute system.

Personnel subsequently conducted live parachute jumps from a C-17 high-performance aircraft at 1,250ft above ground level after completing the NET activities.

Image: The Airborne Tactical Assault Panel (ABN-TAP) rigging configurations. Photo: courtesy of PM Soldier.