Weight: 1400 pounds (3400 pounds loaded)
Length: 5 feet (102 inches) (1.5 m)
Width: 5 feet (102 inches) (1.5 m)
Height: 8 (2.43 meters)
Crew: 5
Armour: 215 square feet - 5 pounds of Dyneema, internal carbon fiber shell, shock proof frame-reinforced monicque hull
Primary armament: 1 x .50 caliber machine gun (1000 rounds, 135 pounds)
1 x 6.5mm Machine gun (3000 rounds, 94 pounds)
Secondary armament:
2 x Javeline missile (100 pounds)
2 x FIM-Stinger missile (80 pound)
Engine: Rocket, JDAM Glider
Ground clearance: 6 inches
Fuel capacity: 684 liters (180 U.S. gal; 160 imp gal)
Operational range: 120 miles
Speed: Gravity
Payload: 2000 pounds (3000 pounds maximum)
Additional information: The vehicle is designed as an unguided free-falling supply unit designed to drop from high altitudes and guide itself on to target with either troops or supplies within it, and protect the users or content from the shock forces of falling from high altitude. The pod is shock-proof and designed to survive a fall at free-fall speeds (equivalent to approximately 660 feet in the air) and keep the soldiers alive, although traditionally is designed to use a number of parachutes and glider and airbrake systems to slow the descent of the soldiers down. Traditionally parachutes involve soldiers hitting the ground with the equivalent speed of falling 24 feet or more, which can cause significant injury to the user, and not only with the shock proofing does the vehicle withstand this, but with the airbrake hits at approximately half these speeds. With the shock proofing, lack of direct impact of the soldiers, slow speeds and lack of exposure to the atmosphere, the drop pods are much safer and require substantially less training to use correctly and safely. With the guidance system based on JDAM munitions the drop pods have pin-perfect accuracy as well, and can land within 10 meters of the selected target even in extreme weather environments and dropped at high altitudes. The mechanism relies on a system of gliders that utilize the free-fall speed of the drop-pod to steer it to target, and it has a flight range of 60 miles from it's initial drop location. Supplies and soldiers can also be deployed together in a single unit, where as with normal air drops dispersion can result in entire platoons being miles apart and even further from their supplies. A fireteam of 5 men can be deployed in a single pod at a time, which reduces the overall size needed by the unit proportionately, and allows the soldiers to be together when they're finally deployed increasing their effectiveness.
The pod is bullet proof to 7.62mm x 51mm NATO cartridges, and therefore can resist bursts of shrapnel and light anti-aircraft rounds at altitude, or small arms when on the ground. It also is weather resistant and resists the extreme cold and passing wind of The system falls faster than a normal person, and hits the ground slower, relying upon a more specialized effective means of slowing the drop pod down. The vehicle begins to slow down at 1000 feet with an air brake and glider system, and then deploys it's parachute between 200-300 feet utilizing specialized fast-deploy parachute mechanisms. This allows the device to only deploy it's parachute at the last possible moment, to prevent anti-aircraft fire from targeting and destroying the drop pod. Unlike with a person there is less fear of parachutes colliding in to each other, a soldier hitting the ground too hard or at an odd angle, the parachutes are more accurate, can fall in to rough terrain such as trees, rocks or water without the soldier being injured, and the parachute mechanism can be more complex and sophisticated, as well as heavy. This makes it more effective, especially at lower altitudes, thus allowing it to reach the ground faster while also slowing down the users more. Under extreme conditions, the pod can hit the ground at terminal velocity speeds, but is likely to injure the user if doing so, even with body armor (approximately 25% of the time). The pod contains an internal supply of oxygen, to allow for HALO drops, and also is insulated and with it's own air conditioning system to prevent soldiers from freezing at high altitudes. The system allows for much faster drops in to territory due to it absorbing the friction of the air better than a soldier, and due to it's oxygen system and buoyancy can deploy more easily in water. The system is substantially safer and easier to use, and causes less damage to the users, and therefore allows for more consistent and repeated drops in to territory by using airborne drop mechanisms. As the primary concern with air drops is safety and consistency, with airborne units more likely to be injured by aircraft accidents than by enemy fire, the system allows for soldiers to be more easily deployed in to combat. Further the pods can be deployed in to combat all at once, more quickly and with less complication, such as the altitude of the aircraft or it's speed, allowing the aircraft itself to be less exposed to enemy fire and making the air drops more consistent. With all of the vital functions automated (although with back-up manual systems), the system removes any required input from the soldier and thus allows almost anyone to deploy from aircraft with minimal training and risk of injury.
