wktaylor
Well-Known Member
"Powered Paragliders Emerge As Popular U.S. Troop Transport Idea."
Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command Raiders pilot Ozone paragliders during a capabilities demonstration at Special Operations Forces Week in May 2024.
Among the panoply of new technologies propelled into development by an intense military rivalry with China, one of the latest may come as a surprise: the humble powered paraglider.
On Aug. 20, the U.S. Army revealed plans to develop the Personal Air Mobility Systems (PAMS), forecasting that a phalanx of motorized trikes attached to parachutes could one day stealthily insert airborne troops behind enemy lines.
The PAMS solicitation, however, marked only the U.S. military’s latest move into powered paragliders.
Eight days before, Marine Corps headquarters published a “powered paraglider interim policy message.” The draft policy statement supports the Augmented Parachute System (APS), which is the Marines’ equivalent of PAMS.
“This system will fill a registered capability gap for the Reconnaissance and Marine Special Operations communities,” the interim policy guidance says. “Each APS will transport one Marine with combat equipment inside the weapon engagement zone and provide a competitive advantage.”
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Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command Raiders pilot Ozone paragliders during a capabilities demonstration at Special Operations Forces Week in May 2024.
Among the panoply of new technologies propelled into development by an intense military rivalry with China, one of the latest may come as a surprise: the humble powered paraglider.
On Aug. 20, the U.S. Army revealed plans to develop the Personal Air Mobility Systems (PAMS), forecasting that a phalanx of motorized trikes attached to parachutes could one day stealthily insert airborne troops behind enemy lines.
The PAMS solicitation, however, marked only the U.S. military’s latest move into powered paragliders.
Eight days before, Marine Corps headquarters published a “powered paraglider interim policy message.” The draft policy statement supports the Augmented Parachute System (APS), which is the Marines’ equivalent of PAMS.
“This system will fill a registered capability gap for the Reconnaissance and Marine Special Operations communities,” the interim policy guidance says. “Each APS will transport one Marine with combat equipment inside the weapon engagement zone and provide a competitive advantage.”
... ...
