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DRDO's Advanced High-Altitude Parachute makes maiden live jump at Nyoma, Ladakh

By CAShorts DeskPublished Source: PIB (Ministry of Defence), 6 October 2026

DRDO's Advanced High-Altitude Parachute makes maiden live jump at Nyoma, Ladakh
Illustration (AI-generated)

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said on October 6, 2026 it had conducted the maiden live jump of its Advanced High-Altitude Parachute (AHAP) at the Nyoma (Mudh) drop zone in Ladakh. The jump began at 16,000 feet, the canopy deployed at 15,500 feet and landing was at 13,700 feet. AHAP is a static-line system for mass paratrooper drops.

Syllabus: Prelims · Current Affairs & IR; GS3 · Indian Achievements in S&T; GS3 · Border Security & Organised Crime

Why it matters

For a paratrooper dropped onto a Ladakh plateau, the parachute decides whether the soldier lands ready to fight. At 13,700 feet the air is thin, so an ordinary canopy comes down faster and opens with a harder jolt, raising the risk of injury. A canopy rated for jumps up to 18,000 feet lets the forces put troops quickly into high mountain areas where roads are few and slow. Because the parachute is designed, built, inspected and certified in India, supply, repair and further development need not wait on a foreign maker. The larger issue is self-reliance in the equipment India needs for high-altitude border areas.

Prelims pointers

  • DRDO: the Ministry of Defence's research and development organisation, working under the Department of Defence Research and Development.
  • ADRDE, Agra: DRDO laboratory for parachutes, aerostats, airships, heavy-drop systems and aircraft arrester barriers; set up at Agra in January 1969.
  • DGAQA: works under the Department of Defence Production; regulator for quality assurance and final acceptance of military aircraft, aero-engines, airborne systems and missiles.
  • CEMILAC: DRDO's certification agency for military aircraft and airborne systems, working through Regional Centres for Military Airworthiness (RCMAs).
  • Ordnance Factory Board: its 41 production units passed on October 1, 2021 to seven government-owned DPSUs, including Gliders India Limited (parachutes) and Troop Comforts Limited.
  • Static-line jump: a line fixed to the aircraft opens the canopy. HALO (high altitude, low opening) and HAHO (high altitude, high opening) are free-fall techniques.
  • Air density and pressure fall with height; for the same canopy and load, a parachute's rate of descent rises as density falls.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to the Advanced High-Altitude Parachute (AHAP) tested by the DRDO, consider the following statements:

1. It is a static-line parachute system meant for the mass drop of paratroopers.

2. It was designed by the Armament Research and Development Establishment, Pune.

3. It was certified for use by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2 only
  3. (c) 3 only
  4. (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer

Answer: (a) 1 only

1 is correct: AHAP is a static-line system for dropping paratroopers in large numbers. 2 is incorrect: it was designed and developed by the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), Agra, DRDO's parachute laboratory; ARDE, Pune works on armaments. 3 is incorrect: DGAQA inspected it and the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) certified it through its regional centre at Kanpur; the DGCA regulates civil aviation.

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