07 – Principles of parachuting in mountainous environments
1st SGT Markus Geist, DEU (A)
German Airborne School
Military Freefall Instructor
Alpine Army Specialist
Email: markus1geist@bundeswehr.org
Background
This presentation was designed to give a basic overview of airborne operations in a mountainous environment.
The presentation was intended to answer the following questions:
- Which units are designated to paradrop in a mountainous environment? (Structure and particularities)
- What are the challenges to paradrop in a mountainous environment? (weather, terrain, altitude)
- What kind of training is required? (duration, structure)
If possible, I was asked to conclude the presentation with experiences (lessons learned) from exercises.
I therefore structured my presentation as follows:
- Units designated for airborne operations in a mountainous environment;
- Basics of airborne operations;
- Challenges of airborne operations in a mountainous environment;
- Training required;
Units designated for Airborne Operations in a mountainous environment
The units that can be designated for airborne operations in a mountainous environment must be defined by each nation. At present, in Germany, we have the following state of affairs:
- Special Forces (Army / Navy / Airforce)
- Long Range Reconnaissance
- Airborne Troopers (Pathfinders / JTACs)
- Mountain Troopers (Parts of: High Alpine (Reconnaissance) Platoon / Mountain Leader Teams / JTACs)
The requirement for units to be trained for airborne operations is constantly discussed and adjusted according to the current tactical and operational needs.
Basics of Airborne Operations
Airborne Operations can be divided into ‘static line’ and ‘freefall’ operations. Both can be conducted in daytime and at night.
In static line operations the parachutes are mostly round, not controllable, and are always released by a static line.
In freefall operations the canopies are rectangular, controllable, and are released by the jumper.
Freefall operations are again divided into Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) High Altitude High Opening (HAHO), High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) and Low Level (not included in the presentation, due to lack of time).
High altitude is defined as an altitude greater than flight level 120 (STANAG 7056), and it may be necessary for oxygen equipment to be used to prevent hypoxia and decompression sickness.
The main difference between the HAHO and HALO procedures is the duration of the freefall phase. In HAHO operations the parachute is opened shortly after exiting the aircraft, in contrast to a lower opening altitude in a HALO procedure.
Low level is a procedure where the aircraft approaches in proximity flight, pops up to exit altitude, drops the jumpers and dives off again.
Challenges of Airborne Operations in mountainous environment
For static line operations, the main challenge in mountainous terrain may be to find a suitable dropzone. In addition, the descent rate of the canopies increases with the elevation of the dropzone, and therefore the risk of jumpers getting hurt also increases.
Normally the mission planner is responsible for the calculation of the droppoint of the jumpers; the glide ratio, depending on wind data; the main heading; the setting of the automatic activation device (a device which releases the reserve canopy at a certain height above ground level, in case the jumper has passed out); and so on. A mountainous environment definitely makes these calculations a bigger challenge.
Since the jumpers must stabilize their freefall with all the equipment they have to bring to the ground, a high level of training in freefall is required, due to the bulky alpine equipment (especially skis).
The size of the Landing Zones can require single approaches by each jumper
In general, freefall jumpers can land in much smaller landing zones than static line jumpers, due to their controllable canopies. Normally freefall jumpers try to land in a team in close formation, following the team leader. In mountainous, and especially in high alpine terrain, the landing zones can be very small, and it may be safer if each jumper conducts a single approach, which requires a higher level of accuracy from the troopers.
Unpredictable wind conditions
In a mountainous environment, you may find cliffs, boulders and other obstacles in close proximity to the landing zone. These can cause local leeward, windward or thermal conditions that can change very rapidly and may make a quite easy landing zone a very difficult one for parachutists.
Training required
There are no rules as to what extent soldiers must be trained before jumping into a mountainous environment. However, it takes a larger training effort, and I would not recommend allowing inexperienced jumpers to jump into alpine terrain. The following is a rough recommendation:
- Alpine skills, depending on terrain/task
- Static line course
- Level of freefall training: Team leader level (approximately 200 jumps / 50-100 jumps per year)
- Special training for parachuting into a mountainous environment, provided by AUT / SUI / …?
Conclusion
Mountainous or higher alpine terrain makes an already risky and difficult means of insertion even more difficult.
- It is a suitable option for bringing small to medium-sized units into mountainous terrain
- Units should be ‘pre-selected’/specialized
- High training effort