US Army Tests New Paratrooper Flotation Device
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Soldiers from the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and 3rd Special Forces Group have participated in the final trial of a new device designed to save the lives of paratroopers landing in water.
Dubbed the Parachutist Flotation Device (PFD), the new equipment has flotation bladders that can be inflated through an oral inflation tube or a carbon dioxide gas cylinder to keep soldiers afloat upon landing.
According to Senior Mechanical Engineer
Dan Shedd, the device is a lifesaver for troopers in combat near bodies of water. “In real-world scenarios, this critical time allows recovery teams to locate and extract jumpers in the event of a water landing,” he said in a press release.