Iconic HMMWVs, which have been on the duty of the US Army since the last periods of the Cold War, are leaving their places to JLTVs.
JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle), which replacing HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), came with some problems. As part of the existing capabilities, eight Humvees can be transported with a C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft, while only two JLTVs can be airdropped with LVADS (Low Velocity Airdrop System / Low Speed Air Launch System) from same plane. So the US Army started to search for a new solution to aridrop four JLTVs simultaneously. In this framework, the Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center (CCDC SC) launched the GADS (Gravity Airdrop System) Project, which is planned to last three years. Within the scope of the works funded by the US Transportation Command, the design and development activities will be carried out and JLTVs' paradrop capabilities will be increased with new solutions.
There are two different approaches currently under evaluation. The first one is the air dropping the vehicles by using a side by side logistics rail system. In the other, it is aimed to fit more vehicles into aircraft by using the smaller, shorter than 24-foot LVADS system called Type V.
