The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully tested its Military Combat Parachute System (MCPS) at one of the world’s highest-altitude drop zones in Ladakh.
The trials were carried out at Nyoma, close to the Line of Control in south-eastern Ladakh. The Indian Air Force (IAF) recently commissioned an airbase at Nyoma, which is among the world's highest airbases for fighter aircraft operations.
The MCPS has been designed and developed by DRDO’s Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), Agra, and the Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory, Bengaluru.
During the trial, ADRDE test jumpers Wg Cdr Rahul Jha, Chief Test Jumper, MWO RJ Singh and MWO Vivek Tiwari executed a jump from an altitude of 22,000 feet above mean sea level, DRDO said on Wednesday.
The parachute was deployed at 20,000 feet, with the jumpers landing safely at an altitude of 13,700 feet. The trial was conducted in temperatures as low as minus 15°C .The test jumpers utilised the MCPS and all other sub-systems, including an indigenous para computer, oxygen system and jumpsuits.
