Six soldiers attached to the Quartermaster’s School at Fort Lee, Va., successfully tested the Army’s newest parachute on Oct. 14, as they jumped from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter carrying a full load of gear. The new T-11 parachute is being phased into use Army-wide, with some units already using it. It will replace the T-10, which has served as the service’s main parachute for more than 50 years. The T-11, with its square-shaped canopy, deploys more easily, minimizes oscillation, and can carry a heavier load than its predecessor. It is now being used by the 75th Ranger Regiment and the U.S. Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. The Fort Bragg, N.C.-based 82nd Airborne Division is still in the fielding process. The parachute will be fully fielded by 2014, according to the Army.
