Indian Navy tests air-droppable logistics containers

The Indian Navy announced it has successfully tested the Sahayak air-droppable containers, deploying them from IL-38 aircraft off Goa in the Arabian Sea on January 8, 2019.

Sahayak Containers will enhance the operational logistics capability of the navy, allowing it to supply spares and stores to ships which are deployed more than 2000 kilometers from coast.

This will reduce the requirement of ships to come close to coast for collecting spares and stores, thereby increasing the deployment duration. These cylindrical containers are indigenously developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory and Aeronautical Development Establishment of DRDO.

A test payload of 50 Kg was dropped in the container, which descended to the sea with the help of a parachute. The navy said it would proceed with serial production of the containers following the successful trials.