September 28, 2007:
The U.S. Air Force has developed an interesting variation on its GPS guided parachutes (for pallets of supplies shoved out the back of C-130s and C-17s). The U-ADD (Universal Aerial Delivery Dispenser) looks like a missile (200mm in diameter, five feet long) but is actually a GPS guided cargo container which deploys a parachute when it arrives a few hundred feet above its aim point. The UADD can carry about a hundred pounds of whatever can fit inside the 50x8 inch circular space. This could be food, medical supplies, batteries, ammo, whatever. Sort of a battlefield FedEx when you need to get something delivered quickly. SOCOM likes it because the GPS makes night drops to Special Forces teams deep in enemy territory easier. U-ADD can be carried by larger UAVs such as the Hunter or Predator. U-ADD can also be used to create a weapon as you can put explosives and a detonator inside as well.