Originally Posted by
ORAC
I think the point is that most para drop roles have taken by helo insertion at short range and increasingly by V-22 and then FVL.
The scenarios where it would be safe to use C-130 or Aa-400M to perform insertion at below 500ft without risk of catastrophic risk of loss of £400M airframes and 100+ troops being vanishingly small.
Particularly at a time when the army is increasingly looking at ranger type forces used, and inserted, in packet sized units.
Quite so. In WW II the German fallschirmjaeger had some successes but casualties were usually severe and such troops take a long time to replace.