Currently, to efficiently transport large amounts of supplies by helicopter requires the use of the sling loading method. But many situations exist that prevent this method from being practical. Sling loading greatly limits the speed and maneuverability of the helicopter and it also introduces a highly dangerous static electricity problem. Current practices for carrying supplies internally require the helicopter to land or nearly land in order to off load the supplies, again putting the helicopter into a highly dangerous position. But we don’t have these limitations for off loading personnel!
What if we were to take a simple, spring loaded tension block and put it on the end of a cargo sling that attaches to a 1-ton pallet that just so happens to be designed to slide on a helicopter floor? Hook it up, throw the rope out the side, shove the pallet out the door, and the tension block slows the speed of the pallet down enough so it doesn’t destroy the load on impact. The block releases automatically when the pallet hits the ground and the weight is relieved from the block. I call this the Fast-rope Delivery System.
FDS could vastly improve on our ability to direct deliver supplies to forward troops. It would greatly reduce the amount of time that the helicopter and ground personnel would have to remain in a vulnerable position. It allows the helicopter to fly at higher speeds, greater ranges, and NOE profiles to further improve survivability. And by using the cheap and versatile 1-ton pallet, we don’t need to worry about retrieving the pallets until after actions are over as they can be used elsewhere.
This system would be a great step forward to the objective goal of having the ability to fully support combat forces through the air under most all conditions. Smaller loads of rations, ammo, water, and other needed items could be direct delivered under most all conditions to forward units. And this capability comes from cheap technology that can easily be adapted to our current transport helicopters.
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