Video: This is how fuel supplies are air-dropped by C-17s in Afghanistan. And sometimes get wasted.

April 30, 2012 Military Aviation

David Cenciotti

The following video shows how fuel (and many other things) are usually delivered to ground recovery teams in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Notice what happens at 0:42 s: it looks like something is falling faster than the rest of the supply; a couple of pallets stacked with fuel barrels with a failed parachute.

Since those pallets that slam into the ground are either lost or damaged, with current fuel prices, that’s a not only a tactical concern (as ground troops don’t get the expected amout of supplies) as well as a significant waste of money.

Night vision footage of U.S. Air Force C-17 dropping U.S. Army personnel onto a Drop Zone (theaviationist.com)
U.S. Navy SEALs raid in Somalia: no need for stealth choppers so did they parachute from a C-17? (theaviationist.com)

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

Zaphod58 says:

April 30, 2012 at 1:15 PM

Fuel prices for the USAF are quite a bit cheaper than for everyone else. It’s still wasteful, and expensive, but short of using more to fly it in by helo this is the only way to get it there.