Australia increases humanitarian aid drops to Iraqis in need raaf.gov.au/Y7cREh The second air drop of Australian aid to Iraqi civilians has been completed with an RAAF C-130J Hercules aircraft delivering 15 palletised bundles of Australian humanitarian supplies to isolated civilians in the Northern Iraqi town of Amirli. The Australian humanitarian supplies included high energy biscuits, bottled water and hygiene packs which are designed to feed and hydrate 2600 people for 24 hours. The C-130J made the drop in darkness, completing the delivery to minimise the risk of ground attack around 0430 local time in Iraq (1030 AEST). The supplies were locked into the C-130 using a container delivery system and as the aircraft reached the drop zone, the RAAF loadmasters cut the straps, releasing the stores in a manoeuvre that uses gravity and the aircraft pitch to quickly release the ten pallets of stores within seconds. Each aid pallet had been carefully packed and fitted with specially designed parachutes by Army Air Dispatch members, who were rapidly deployed from Sydney for this task. The aircraft returned to Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arabs Emirates at 0740 local time (1340 AEST), completing a lengthy seven hour mission. Chief of Joint Operations Vice Admiral David Johnston says the ADF continues to contribute to international efforts to prevent a humanitarian disaster in Northern Iraq. “The ADF has worked tirelessly to ensure that Australian Aid gets to the isolated civilians in the Amirli area of Northern Iraq.” “The strategic importance of our deployed Middle East Headquarters located in the UAE, enables Australia to plan and conduct short notice missions as part of an international and coalition response,” Vice Admiral Johnston said. See more images raaf.gov.au/Y7cREh
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 04:43:32 +0000
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