Army tests new water, fuel bladders for airdrop

By Sgt. Michael J. MacLeodNovember 17, 2011

111109-A-XXXXX-001
1 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Parachute riggers with the 82nd Airborne Division's 11th Quartermaster Company lower two G11B parachutes onto a package containing over several hundred gallons of water in each of two newly-developed blivets Nov. 9, 2011, for a test drop the followin... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
111109-A-XXXXX-002
2 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Lifeliner CUBE systems developed for the transport and storage of water and fuel sit ready to be packaged by parachute riggers for a test airdrop Nov. 10, 2011, at Fort Bragg, N.C. Each polypropylene water blivet can hold several hundred gallons of ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
111109-A-XXXXX-003
3 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Test packages of newly-developed water blivets are loaded onto a truck prior to being airdropped from a C-17 Globemaster aircraft Nov. 10, 2011, at Camp MacKall, N.C. The new blivets cost 40% less than the current 500-gallon blivet. (U.S. Army cour... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
111110-A-3108M-001
4 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Test packages of newly-developed Lifeliner CUBE water and fuel containers are airdropped from a C-17 Globemaster aircraft Nov. 10, 2011, at Camp MacKall, N.C. The containers were fast-tracked into development in little over a year for troops deploye... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
111110-A-3108M-002
5 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A test package of newly-developed Lifeliner CUBE water and fuel containers land after being airdropped from a C-17 Globemaster aircraft Nov. 10, 2011, at Camp MacKall, N.C. Three successful airdrops are required for the system to be certified for th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
111110-A-3108M-003
6 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Engineers with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center of Natick, Mass., stand next to a test package of new water blivets while paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division land in the distance Nov. 10, 2011, at Camp ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
111110-A-3108M-004
7 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – John Mahon, senior aerial delivery equipment specialist with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center of Natick, Mass., helps attach a test package of water blivets to a crane Nov. 10, 2011, at Camp MacKall, N.C. The p... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
111110-A-3108M-005
8 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Jordan Tackett, a truck driver with the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, directs a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck into place for a crane operator Nov. 10, 2011, at Camp MacKall, N.C. The crane operator is Sgt. Jose Pasi... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
111110-A-3108M-006
9 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. Jose Pasillas, a crane operator with the 82nd Sustainment Brigade, maneuvers a test package of water blivets onto the bed of a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck Nov. 10, 2011, at Camp MacKall, N.C. The package was delivered to the ground b... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
111110-A-3108M-007
10 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – John Mahon, senior aerial delivery equipment specialist with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center of Natick, Mass., helps guide a test package of water blivets to a flatbed trailer Nov. 10, 2011, at Camp MacKall, N.... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
111110-A-3108M-008
11 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Jordan Tackett, a truck driver with the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, helps strap down a test package of water blivets to a flatbed trailer Nov. 10, 2011, at Camp MacKall, N.C. The package was airdropped under parachute cano... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

CAMP MACKALL, N.C. -- Army paratroopers here completed two of three test drops Nov. 10 to certify a new water and fuel container system for airdrops in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Each drop of two Lifeliner CUBEs delivered well over gallons of water safely to the ground under dual, 100-foot-wide parachutes from over 1,000 feet, according to the project lead, John Mahon of the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center of Natick, Mass.

CUBE is an acronym for container-unitized bulk equipment.

A third drop scheduled for the same day was scratched due to mechanical issues aboard the aircraft, said Mahon.

The new container, a polypropylene bladder-like "blivet" nested inside a recyclable plastic box, was developed to meet specifications requested by the 101st Sustainment Brigade currently deployed to Afghanistan, he said.

The CUBE can be transported by truck or slingloaded beneath a helicopter, and unlike the old 500-gallon blivets, these 400-gallon systems can be stacked several high to reduce their storage footprint.

(To meet current rigging guidelines and avoid delays, the airdropped blivets were filled less than their maximum capacity.)

The CUBE is 40% the cost of the current model, and when collapsed, can be handled by one person and stacked for storage.

For the test drops, the team was aided by sustainment paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, along with parachute riggers and heavy-equipment operators from the 82nd Sustainment Brigade, he said.

Lt. Col. Paul Narowski, senior logistician with 1BCT and commander of the 307th Brigade Support Battalion, said that validated airdrop-rigging procedures will ensure that, no matter where a force is on the battlefield, 400 gallons of fuel, water or unitized supplies can be delivered by surface, slingload or airdrop.

A pioneer of low-cost, low-altitude supply drop techniques in Afghanistan, Narowski sees the CUBE system as another relatively low-cost method of resupplying small bases.

"Use of the CUBE will support objectives to draw down forces and equipment in [Operation Enduring Freedom] by providing storage and distribution capability to the warfighter at a

greatly-reduced cost," he added.

The 11th Quartermaster heavy drop airdrop systems technician, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Terry Wright, said that because many of the civilian engineers were former riggers -- Mahon served 31 years -- working with them went particularly well.

According to Mahon, whereas a typical Army program from concept to operational tests can take 6-8 years, because the project was fast-tracked, operational testing was achieved in just over a year.

To date, 200 systems have already been fielded to deployed units with more on the way, he said. He hopes to certify the CUBE's airdrop capability and have a draft of airdrop procedures ready within the next 30-60 days.