the number of locations which can be used as a drop zone. This reduces both the risk of hostile fire to aircraft and aircrews and the amount of cargo that misses a drop zone. Benefits JPADS offers several main benefits, including an increase in the number of available drop zones and an increase in the cargo's precision, which benefits the user. JPADS also increases the survivability of the delivery aircraft and its crew. Ground Accuracy Current drop zones are quite large; or more. Airdropping sequential loads (multiple loads aboard a single aircraft) requires very long drop zones on the order of or more, or else the aircraft must make multiple passes over the same area, a tactically unsound thing to do. Furthermore, achieving a high degree of accuracy (less than ) requires the aircraft to fly at the lowest altitude possible, which can range from above ground level to as high as , depending on the altitude of the drop zone, the weight of the load, and the number and type of parachutes required. JPADs can achieve the same or better accuracy from greater heights, allowing the aircraft to drop the load at a much higher, and usually safer, altitude. Standoff Delivery Because JPADS allows the aircraft to drop at high-altitude, the aircraft can actually drop the load a good distance away from the drop zone, which affords the aircrew to remain free of enemy threats which may be near the area where the load is being dropped. Survivability Airdrops are usually performed at slow speeds for an aircraft, usually 130 kts for paratroopers and 140 kts for cargo. When combined with the low altitude required for precision, the aircraft are vulnerable to enemy ground fire. With JPADS, the aircraft is much more likely to survive, as it can drop at a much higher altitude, above most enemy ground fire. Feedback Because the system can transmit its current position back to the airdrop aircraft, it provides its exact landing location which the aircrew can then transmit to ground forces which may not have arrived at the drop zone. See also Delivery drone Loadmaster Pathfinder (military) Airborne forces Paratrooper Static line High-altitude military parachuting References External links Airborne Systems' JPADS Sherpa JPADS System Overview Global Security - JPADS US Army's NATICK article on JPADS Defense Industry Daily article on JPADS HAHO/HALO for Parachutists Defenselink article with photo Defense Update - JPADS