C-130H Hercules aircraft and airmen from three airlift wings conduct training on the Joint Precision Air Drop System, JPADS, at the Minneapolis St. Paul airport in June 2008.
A K-loader lines up at the back of a MN Air National Guard C-130H with training loads to be dropped at Camp Ripley on June 18, 2008.
Loadmasters from the 109th Airlift Squadron check the oxygen system during training in a MN Air National Guard C-130H using the Joint Precision Air Drop System, or JPADS, on June 18, 2008.
Loadmasters with the 109th Airlift Squadron throw a sonde off the ramp of a C-130 Hercules using the Joint Precision Air Drop System, or JPADS. Airmen from the 133rd Airlift Wing use JPADS to drop supplies as they train for action in a combat zone.
Loadmasters from the 109th Airlift Squadron toss a sonde out the back of a C-130H as the Minnesota Air National Guard crew flies over a drop zone at Camp Ripley on June 19, 2008. The sonde receives and then transmits data back to the Hercules using the Joint Precision Air Drop System, or JPADS. From that data, the Airmen from the 133rd Airlift Wing calculate where they need to drop supplies as they train for action in a combat zone.
Technical Sgt. Jill Shepard, a loadmaster from the 109th Airlift Squadron checks a sonde before sending it out the back of a C-130H on June 19, 2008. The sonde receives and then transmits data back to the Hercules using the Joint Precision Air Drop System, or JPADS. From that data, the Airmen from the 133rd Airlift Wing calculate where they need to drop supplies as they train for action in a combat zone.
The indicator light at the back of the aircraft ramp shows green, so a loadmaster from the 109th Airlift Squadron tosses a sonde out the back of a C-130H on June 19, 2008. The sonde receives and then transmits data back to the Hercules using the Joint Precision Air Drop System, or JPADS. From that data, the Airmen from the 133rd Airlift Wing calculate where they need to drop supplies as they train for action in a combat zone.
Lt. Col. Ted Biro, command pilot with the 109th Airlift Squadron lines up his C-130 Hercules for a pallet extraction using the Joint Precision Air Drop System, or JPADS. Airmen from the 133rd Airlift Wing use JPADS to drop supplies as they train for action in a combat zone.
Chief Navigaor for the 109th Airlift Squadron, Lt. Col. John Strike, enters data into a laptop computer during a mission briefing on August 7, 2008 at the MN Air National Guard air base in St. Paul. The laptop is an essential component to JPADS, or Joint Precision Air Drop System, where information from a sonde is transmitted to the navigator so they can get the Hercules in the right place at the right time to deliver the cargo.
Loadmaster Senior Amn. Shawn Engelstad, 109th Airlift Squadron, prepares a pallet to roll off the ramp of C-130 Gofer 5 on August 7, 2008. The pallet is part of JPADS, or Joint Precision Air Drop System being used by the MN Air National Guard Airmen during deplyments to Southwest Asia.
MN Air National Guard loadmaster, Technical Sgt. Cameron Beck of the 109th Airlfit Squadron watches a pallet roll of the ramp of the Hercules on August 7, 2008. The 133rd Airlift Wing aircrew and aircraft train with JPADS, Joint Precision Air Drop System.
Loadmasters Senior Amn. Shawn Engelstad (left) and Technical Sgt. Cameron Beck of the 109th Airlift Squadron prepare sondes on the ramp of C-130 Gofer 5 on August 7, 2008. The sondes are thrown out the back of the ramp as the 133rd Airlift Wing aircrew approaches the drop zone and the aircraft commander gives the signal. The sonde then transmits data back to the aircraft configured for the Joint Precision Air Drop System where the navigator computes the coordinates for the next pass to drop the pallet.
Loadmaster Senior Amn. Shawn Engelstad, 109th Airlift Squadron, kneels beside a pallet, preparing it to roll off the ramp of C-130 Gofer 5 on August 7, 2008. The pallet is part of JPADS, or Joint Precision Air Drop System being used by the MN Air National Guard Airmen during deplyments to Southwest Asia.
A pallet of cargo rolls off the ramp of a MN Air National Guard C-130H at precisely the right time over Camp Ripley during a training mission using JPADS, or Joint Precision Air Drop System, on August 7, 2008. The Airmen and aircraft of the 133rd Airlift Wing have been training to use the JPADS during deployments to Afghanistan.
A pallet drifts under a parachute over Camp Ripley, MN on August 7, 2008 after being dropped, or extracted, from a C-130H flown by the 133rd Airlift Wing. The MN Air National Guard aircraft and Airmen train for dropping cargo in a combat zone using JPADS, or Joint Precision Air Drop System.
