Russia flight tests ‘GPS-Guided Automated Cargo Parachute’

Russian state Rostec subsidiary Technodinamika is flight-testing a GPS-guided, automated cargo parachute system.

Called the Juncker-DG-250 system, the parachute uses coordinates provided by a global positioning system to drop loads weighing up to 250 kg (551 pounds) from an altitude of up to 8,000 meters (26,246.72 feet) with a maximum landing error of 100 meters (328 feet).

A ground control system receives the GPS coordinates and shares them with the parachute through a digital communication channel. The parachute also operates in “slave mode,” following the lead parachutist.

Patented Systems

Rostec Executive Director Oleg Yevtushenko revealed that the system has just been patented and they have also received a patent for an “all-purpose parachute cargo harness” that can “increase the payload of any parachute system to 500 kg (1,102 pounds).”

“At the moment, the product is undergoing flight development tests. It is planned that by the end of 2022 the prototype will be transferred for testing to the State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

The all-purpose parachute cargo harness is undergoing research tests, including those needed to develop the guidelines for using it with various types of aircraft in service in the Russian armed forces,” General Director of Technodinamika JSC Igor Nasenkov revealed.

Source: Defense Post