C17 Globemaster Airdrop Over Afghanistan
The air drop is a form of airlift that saw its birth during World War II to supply the troops, otherwise inaccessible, that could have been airborne forces themselves.
During the first drops, they threw or pushed packets from quilted aéronefs1. Later it was dropping small crates with parachutes through the side doors of the aircraft. The arrival of large doors at the rear can be lowered in flight crews allowed to deploy large pallets.
With larger aircraft, the US military devised the low-height extraction technique, making possible the delivery of tanks and other equipment of large size. The dropping of weapons reached a point where a huge bomb was the payload. The BLU-82, nicknamed Daisy Cutter (daisies Mower French), served in Vietnam and recently in Afghanistan. The bomb GBU-43 / B, with a weight of 10 250 kg, was deployed to the Persian Gulf for the Liberation of Iraq. These weapons are carried by cargo aircraft, acting as bombers.
In psychological operations, air drops are used to launch propaganda leaflets.
In addition to combat operations, UN and humanitarian had been dropping food or medical supplies, recently in South Sudan
Link courtesy of Ian "Thommo" Thompson