Powered Parafoil Munitions Delivery System (PP-MDS)

Effective use of long range precision fires has proven critical to the successful execution of modern military operations. The current conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated the important role precision fires play on the battlefield and the continued need for their development to maintain an edge over potential adversaries. While the U.S. military used them to great effect in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is clear demand for new systems that are better suited to the requirements of Air Force operations conducted in contested environments. Operating under these conditions will require larger numbers of inexpensive, low-end systems to augment high-end platforms to increase adaptability and the capacity to absorb losses; requirements that are not met by current systems. Freedom Flight proposes the development of Powered Parafoil Munitions Delivery System (PP-MDS), whereby low-cost munitions pallets could be launched as a swarm and autonomously navigated to their destination where Air Force personnel would then direct their fires onto target via satellite datalink. PP-MDS is low-cost and simple to operate, enabling swarm and picket line tactics with assets organic to the unit level. PP-MDS can integrate with Battlefield Management System (BMS), Common Launch Tube (CLT), and can carry a variety of Air Force munitions packages. A key advantage of PP-MDS is its attritability and low cost of acquisition, enabling it to be fielded in much larger numbers than alternative platforms. PP-MDS could be used in ‘swarms’ to congregate around a target or loiter for some time before weapons launch, for use against hidden targets that emerge for only short periods.  Powered parafoil flight is well-suited to munitions delivery because of their slower speeds for detailed observation of the target environment, high fuel fraction enabling exceptional persistence on station, and because of their low cost, compactness, and often comparatively favorable acoustic, radar, and thermal signatures. PP-MDS will complement existing munitions delivery systems by broadening the Air Force’s precision fires portfolio, further complicating enemy A2/AD arrangements. In addition, PP-MDS will be highly modular and reconfigurable for use in ISR, remote sensor emplacement, and aerial cargo delivery operations. Based on mission need, the system’s propulsion unit can be replaced to either increase its range, further reduce its observability, or increase its attritability.