The US Army has awarded a $17m contract to aircraft emergency parachute systems manufacturer BRS Aerospace to provide 3,500 cargo parachutes.
Under the two-year contract, the company will provide high and low-velocity parachutes to replace the conventional nylon round canopy parachutes with the same 26ft ringslot and G-12 container systems currently used by the troops.
The high-velocity chutes are designed for deployments between 15,000ft and 25,000ft above ground level (AGL) while the low-velocity chutes are for altitudes of 500ft to 1,200ft AGL.
The manufacture will be carried out at the company’s facilities in North Carolina and Minnesota.