US Air Force C-17 Stuns the World With a Massive Humvee Drop From 5,000 Feet

This is the official U.S. Military Archive. We begin our live observation of recent naval and training operations in the Caribbean Sea. Takeoff thrust set. Checked. Airspeed alive, V1. Systems check is good. Confirm throttle calibration. Throttle calibrated. Flaps 20. Takeoff trim set. V1. Rotate. Positive rate. Gear up. Confirm ascent profile established. Ascent profile established. Initiating left bank to 2-9-0. Roger that. Continue to flight level 1-8-0. Waypoint Charlie is active. Looks good for the approach. Confirmed. Maintaining course. Target coordinates confirmed at grid reference Charlie dot 5. Winds aloft are stable for the drop. Roger that. Final approach speed looks good. Sequence initiated. Standby for drop. All clear aft. Deployed. Cargo standby for drop sequence. Restraints clear. We are ready for release. Go! Go! Go! Go! Master caution reset. Drop sequence armed. Armed and ready. Green light confirmed. Dropping now. Go! Go! Go! Clear the ramp! Ramp clear. Drop complete. Bay is secure. Clear to close. Roger. Ramp clear. Okay. Throttling up. Heading 2-9-0. Confirm new flight level. Wilco leveling at 1-8-0. Nav systems aligned. Leaving the DZ. Cargo away. Good drop. Adjust left. Steady. Steady. On my side. Move out! Sierra 1 to base. The package is down. I repeat, the package is down. Roger. Moving to secure the area now. That's the last one for Chalk 2. Solid. All green. Initiating left bank. Passing the shoreline. Bank established. Altitude holding steady. Alright. Check the fuel flow on MFD 2. We're looking for a stabilized burn before descent. Copy that. Stabilized burn on MFD 2. Maintain positive control of your risers. Red light means standby. Green light, you execute the jump. Check your buddy one last time. Crews checklist complete. Control panel sequence initiated. All green. Roger that. Holding steady. Cargo bay systems active. Power transition to internal auxiliary. All indicators green. Hook up! Check static lines! Check! Go! Stand up! Hook up! Zoom! Check static lines! Final inspection complete. Ramp is down. Clear to drop. Drop successful. Looking good down there. Affirmative, Captain. Nicely done. Nicely done. Secure. Secure. Let's check the forward straps. Steady now. Push hard! It's giving away. We got it. Moving to the next one. Hit it again, Cammie. Tighten it up. Careful. Alright, solid. Let's move to the next one. I'm showing an anomaly on the bleed air valve up top. Agreed. Standby for the checklist initiation. Easy, easy. Keep it rolling forward now. Clear on the left. Watch your spacing. Alright, right there. Hold, hold, hold. Set the brakes. Confirming heading 040. Altitude steady at flight level 350. Roger that. Sun is intense. Consider visor down. Torque harness is secure. Cabin status green. 5th, 40, 3rd, 20, 10. Confirmed. Stable. Reverse thrust engaged. 80 knots. Positive deceleration. 60 knots. Flaps up. Spoilers retracted. We are approaching Charlie holding point. Checked. Speed is good. Hydraulic pumps. Off. APU generator switch. Off. Checklist complete. Alright, listen up. We move out in three minutes. That bird is waiting. Go, go! Grab your gear now! Alright, steady on the center line. He's giving the cutoff signal. Roger that. Parking brake set. Secure that chain, airman. Double check the tension. Secure it, Staff Sergeant. Alright, we're green. Pull it out. Hydraulic power set to off. Parking brake engaged. Parking brake engaged. Three green. Checklist complete. Overhead panel secure. Gated switches. Off. All clear. Cab is in. Pressurized. Another perfect touchdown. Couldn't have done it better myself. It was smooth sailing once we cleared the weather. Nicely done. Door is open and secured. Pressurization is nominal. Copy that. Ground crew is signaling green. We are clear to move. Did you check the pressure on the front right? It looked low this morning. Yeah, it's holding steady now, but the tread is almost gone. We need a replacement. Cargo deployed. All systems green. Good drop. Welcome back, Captain. Thanks, man. Appreciate the quick turn. As you can see on the board, the ingress route has been updated. Pay close attention to the new coordinates highlighted here. We anticipate heavy resistance. This route avoids the restricted airspace here, but we need to confirm the refueling coordinates by 1400 hours. And the updated weather overlay shows turbulence near the drop zone. Ensure the torque settings on the inboard brake assembly match the specs on your checklist. Pay close attention to the hydraulic lines for any chafing. Torque is confirmed. Checking the lines now. Rollers look good here. Check the alignment on this side. Locking pin secure. We're clear to load. We have confirmed clear passage through the sector, sir. The weather stabilized faster than predicted. Excellent news, Sergeant. Let's brief the pilots immediately. Look at the compression on cell 4B. The honeycomb structure completely failed on impact. Logging structural failure, section 4B. Is the payload secure? Affirmative, but the extraction will be difficult. And then I told them, that'll not a checklist. That's my grocery list. You did not. No wonder the tower was confused. Overhead panel check complete. Confirmed. Hydraulic systems are pressurized and green. Roger that. Good to go. As you can see on the main screen, the satellite imagery confirms the movement of the target across the border at 00400 hours Zulu time. The logistics need to be finalized by 1400 hours. Otherwise, we risk delaying the entire shipment to the forward operating base. Pay close attention to this sector. The intel suggests high activity. We push through this corridor, secure the objective, and regroup at rally point 7. We need to address the discrepancies in the report before the wing commander sees it. Ensure the data is accurate by 1600. Our primary objective is the high value target located here, grid reference 459. We move along the blue route, avoiding the known patrols. We need to get this convoy moving now. The storm is heading right for us, and the LZ won't be clear for long. Look at that. Textbook execution on the airdrop. The Humvee is down and secure. Ready for immediate deployment. Pallet 1, touchdown. Winds holding steady at 15. Fold left, fold right. Keep it tight. Moving up. Secure the straps. Keep it coming steady. Watch your spacing on the left. Easy now. And stop. Hold it right there. Straps are secured. Load master. Alright team, the load is secure. Thumbs up. Ready for takeoff. DZ is hot. 5000 feet, 250 knots. Standby, standby. Drop initiated. See the red circle there? That's our drop zone. Confirm visual. Roger that. Drop zone acquired. Stabilizer trim set. Speed alive. Checked. Positive rate. Gear up. Hydraulic pumps 1 and 2, auto. Auto. Engine start continuous. Set continuous. Drop system armed. Green status confirmed. Stand up. Hook up. Check equipment. Sound off. More equipment check. Stand up. Hook up. Check equipment. Sound off. Go, go, go. Good work up there. You too, Captain. Mission complete. Nice work. Nice work. You too. Clear. Copy that. Cherokee 170 inbound on final approach. Standby for drop sequence. Flaps up. After takeoff checklist complete. Confirmed. Cruising altitude achieved. Approaching the drop zone. Altitude steady. Roger that. Checking final release sequence. Pallet clear. Drop complete. Roger. Stabilizing aircraft. Stabilizing aircraft.