Originally Posted by
KenV
The US Military jumped for decades out of the C-141 which is very similar to the IL-76 and have never (to my knowledge) used such a system. And they continue to jump out of the C-17 which has a similar jump airspeed. The C-17 is a STOL design and can fly slower than the C-141, but that requires full flaps/slats and high AOA which results in a high deck angle. The C-17 deck angle may not exceed 4 degrees during a jump which requires an airspeed similar to C-141. I doubt that IL-76 jump airspeed is significantly higher, if at all. And interestingly, they jump single stick off the Ilyushin's ramp, not double stick out of side doors. Very different in multiple ways.
They are jumping squares not rounds hence the single-stick. The parachute is deployed by either a timer or pressure device allowing it to be used across a wide range of altitudes.
I'm guessing the use of the drogue means that body position is less important on those jumps that have any significant freefall time, thus circumventing the need for the training associated with MFF ops.