A C-130J aircrew from the 317th Airlift Group at Dyess AFB, Texas, demonstrated the Joint Precision Airdrop System, or JPADS, during the US Transportation Command Component Commanders’ Conference at Fort Hood, Texas, on 24 April 2012. JPADS uses the Global Positioning System, steerable parachutes, and an on-board computer to steer airdropped pallets to a designated point of impact on a drop zone. Air Mobility Command units have been tasked to start JPADS training in the continental US at higher altitudes to replicate combat airdrops in Afghanistan. Because of the amount of airspace needed, only a few locations, such as central Texas near where both Dyess and Fort Hood are located, can facilitate this type of airdrop training.
