New paratrooper jump trainer
Photo: IDF Spokesperson
A new facility to simulate parachute landings has been inaugurated at the Center for Air Transportation, Parachuting, and Special Training – located next to Tel Nof Air Force Base in the Shfela. The facility – called a mini-bungee – will replace a much older facility which hasn't been in use for 14 years due to technical issues.
"In contrast to similar facilities, this one enables vertical jump drills at realistic speeds" said a high ranking officer in the ground forces who was involved in the project.
The new jump trainer is 50 feet tall –almost twice as tall as the precious facility – and will enable paratrooper cadets to practice how to free fall for a few meters, and will enable the cadets to practice landing techniques.
The new jump facility (צילום: דובר צה"ל)
"The facility gives the cadet the ability to deal (psychologically) with heights as he steps forward into nothing. The cadet feels like he is floating for a few moments," the officer said.
He continued, saying "an addition goal is to give the cadet confidence before his first real jump from a C130 plane."
It still hasn't been determined when during training the cadets will use the jump trainer. That will be determined after discussions with instructors and cadets using the equipment.
The facility itself was built by an Israeli company, but the jump harnesses and special pulleys were made by a British company and are marketed across the world to other armies as well. The facility is the first of its kind among parachuting training facilities within the IDF, as most of the existing facilities were built in the fifties. Many of the old facilities will be replaced in the coming year, including the training towers and ziplines, which will be fitted with new parachutes that entered service in the last two years.
Only the four paratrooper battalions and the new commando brigade — which includes the elite Special Forces units Maglan, Duvdevan, Rimon, and Egoz — go through a parachute course as part of their basic training.
The IDF has returned dry parachute exercises to the forefront of operational training. This is highlighted by entire battalion and brigade level exercises being conducted multiple times a year as part of military preparations for combat in the north, including Lebanon.