Military: Pinpoint airdrops key to success in Afghanistan
The United States last year airdropped a record amount of supplies to remote outposts throughout Afghanistan, reflecting dramatic changes in the accuracy of aerial resupply missions that is key to the counterinsurgency campaign, the U.S. military says.
"I don't know if we could execute the strategy … without airdrop," said Air Force Maj. Tom Lankford, chief of combat tactics branch at the Air Mobility Command.
The ability to drop bundles of ammunition and supplies with near pinpoint accuracy has allowed the coalition to maintain scores of combat outposts among small villages and towns. Troops at these outposts are protecting Afghans from Taliban violence and making it safe for the Afghan government to provide services — the core of the U.S.-led counterinsurgency strategy.
Some of the outposts are impractical to resupply by ground because of poor or non-existent roads. Enemy activity and bad weather can also make it difficult to send out ground convoys with supplies. Insurgents seed roads with makeshift bombs, slowing down supply lines.
Changes in tactics and technology for dropping cargo have worked around those impediments, though they have gone largely unnoticed outside military circles.
"It's not real sexy," said Col. John Plating, a professor at the Air Force Academy. "But it's terrifically vital as any soldier on the ground will tell you."
In 2005, the Air Force required a drop zone of 260 acres to land eight bundles. Today, the same load can be dropped within 5 acres, according to the Air Mobility Command. As the drops have become more accurate, they are being depended upon more by troops.
In 2011, aircraft delivered 80 million pounds of cargo in Afghanistan, up from 60 million pounds the year before, according to the Air Mobility Command. The amount of supplies doubled every year from 2006 to 2010.
Cargo aircraft can drop everything from frozen steaks for troops who have been without a hot meal for months, to fuel bladders and ammunition. The supplies are packed into bundles weighing as much as 2,200 pounds and are dropped by parachute onto areas that might be little more than a rocky outcropping.
Some outposts exist only because of the air supply effort. Forty-three forward operating bases in 2011 relied exclusively on aerial resupply, according to Air Mobility Command.
In the early days of resupply, loads would often break apart or fall on homes. The U.S. Air Force has improved accuracy through a combination of technology and tactics over recent decades. Among them are better measures of wind speed and direction at drop sites, and one system that uses satellite technology and a steerable parachute to maneuver loads.
"The fact that we can resupply guys deep in enemy territory … that capability is profound," Plating said.
