U.S. Army Airborne School at Fort Benning test improved parachuting system

Elizabeth Jones

Paratroopers stationed at Fort Benning may be seeing improved safety and reliability when training for service in the field, as the U.S. Army Airborne School has now switched to the new T-11 parachute system integration, the first update to parachuting systems in more than 50 years.

The T-11, an updated version of the previous T-10 model instilled in the 1950s, features a new rectangular shape that supports a greater amount of weight, decreases the rate of descent and features a slider component that separates lines to reduce the possibility of entanglement, according to the military press.

Soldiers will continue to train on the T-10 as well as the new T-11 parachutes while the military slowly phases out the older model over the next 15 years.

"This has been needed for a long time," said First Sergeant Christopher Goodrow of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. "For the Airborne community, I think this is a leap into the 21st century."

Few units are currently using the T-11 in the field, but many airborne units are expected to see the new parachutes by the end of the year, according to the news provider.

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