Spartans field 21st Century parachute

  • Published
  • By Army Staff Sgt. Mark Shrewsbury
  • 4-25th IBCT Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Spartan paratroopers with the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, conducted their first unit airborne operation with the Army's new T-11 parachute Oct. 17.

Nearly 300 paratroopers from the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment (Airborne) and the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, jumped from two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft onto JBER's Malemute Drop Zone.

Leaders within the brigade said the use of the T-11 parachute system represents a significant step forward into the 21st century with regards to airborne technology.
"Over time, the Army has recognized the fact that Soldiers' combat loads have grown heavier since original parachute designs back in the '50s," said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Ward, 2-377th PFAR commander. "With this new parachute, which has a bigger canopy, the paratrooper's rate of descent will be slower. This means that each paratrooper will be capable of jumping with more equipment and, with the slower descent, land more safely."

There are several major differences between the T-10 parachute system, which the brigade used until recently, and the T-11. The T-11 is able to handle a load capacity of more than 400 pounds to accommodate today's paratrooper and their equipment load. Additionally, the new parachute is cruciform in shape, as opposed to a circle, with a larger surface area and diameter. Due to its difference in shape and size, the new parachute system slows the rate of descent from 22 feet per second to 19.1 feet per second, which greatly reduces the chance of jump-related injuries.

"Use of the T-11 parachute system will result in fewer injuries," Ward said. "The brigade's overall readiness will be improved due to our being able to deploy paratroopers at a rapid rate with fewer injuries and more equipment vital to the accomplishment of the mission."

The units conducted the airborne operation without combat equipment for the brigade's first T-11 jump.

"When we conduct these initial airborne operations with the T-11, we want to do so without equipment so paratroopers can get used to the new parachute system," said Army Lt. Col. Patrick Altenburg, a native of Cincinnati, and the commander of 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment. "The brigade is transitioning fully into this parachute now and it will be the one we use from here on out."

The purpose of this training event was to further validate the brigade's rapid insertion capability and field the Army's newest personnel delivery system to the U.S. military's only Arctic Airborne Infantry Brigade.