Dover navigator's program used in Afghan airdrop missions
Capt. Chris Deslongchamp, a Special Operations Low-Level II navigator assigned to the 9th Airlift Squadron, is contributing to Operation Enduring Freedom with a computer program he designed.
The computer science major from Oklahoma University originally created the program two years ago while working at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., as a tool to aid navigators compute high-altitude airdrops.
While the C-17 mission computer can handle high-altitude drops, it wasn't able to independently calculate the release point for humanitarian relief drops, known as TRIADS (Triwall Aerial Distribution Systems) from high altitudes, so a method needed to be designed to manually calculate a release point, according to Maj. Robert Rhyne, assistant director of operations, 33rd Flight Test Squadron at the Air Mobility Warfare Center in Fort Dix, N.J.
"The C-17 force has no navigators, and until the mission computer can be modified to support TRIADS computations, some form of manual computation must be accomplished by pilots," he said.
Air Mobility Command tasked the 33rd Flight Test Squadron to perform operational tests with actual humanitarian rations and boxes.
Deslongchamp's program, which was already in existence, proved to be a convenient, simple and reliable tool.
"Captain Deslongchamp's program provided a very quick, convenient method for 'manually' calculating a release point, which we would need due to limited time available to complete our high-altitude test drops," said Rhyne. "While there are other programs available to manually calculate a release point, Captain Deslongchamp's program met the early requirement and has been working quite well since.
"While the program is not necessary for other airdrop methods," he said, "It is currently the enabler for TRIADS airdrop, allowing aircraft to accurately deliver Humanitarian Daily Rations from altitudes hopefully above the reach of certain enemy anti-aircraft threats."
There is at least one other existing program that could have been adapted to serve this purpose, but Deslongchamp's was simpler to work with and based on software familiar to pilots, which made it easy to manipulate, according to Rhyne.
"Because of the simplicity of the program, C-17 pilots were trained to use it and we've received feedback from guys in the field," said Rhyne. "Deslongchamp has been a big help, working with these crews to make the program more user friendly and foolproof."
Deslongchamp's program became the approved solution and was tested for high altitude airdrops in the summer of 2001. The program was put to the real test, though, when it began being used in real-world trials in Afghanistan in October. According to Rhyne, Deslongchamp's program plays a key role in delivering humanitarian rations to Operation Enduring Freedom.
"He provided a critical component in the development of a revolutionary new airdrop capability," said Rhyne. "If the Air Force wants to use high-altitude TRIADS, this program allows it to happen.
Deslongchamp's program works by computing wind speeds with ballistic information like the weight of objects being dropped with the speed and direction of the aircraft.
"It could be compared to throwing something out the window of a moving car," said Deslongchamp. "We want our drops to hit a specific point on the ground, so there are many factors which give us coordinates. For example, we may drop an item two miles short and one mile left of a drop zone."
(FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)
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