About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

HALO/HAHO

Encyclopedia : H : HA : HAL : HALO/HAHO

This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject.
Please help recruit one, or improve this page yourself}} if you can. See [discussion page] for details.
HALO/HAHO are terms used by militaries to describe methods of delivering personnel, equipment, and supplies from a transport aircraft at a high altitude via free-fall parachute insertion.

HALO is an acronym for High Altitude-Low Opening, and is also known as Military Free Fall (MFF), while HAHO stands for High Altitude-High Opening. In recent years, the HALO technique has been practiced by civilians as a form of skydiving.

The main difference between the two techniques is that in the HALO technique, the parachutist opens his parachute at a low altitude after free-falling for a period of time, while in the HAHO technique, the parachutist opens his parachute at a high altitude just a few seconds after jumping from the aircraft.

The HAHO technique is used for delivering equipment, supplies, or personnel, while the HALO technique is generally used only for personnel. In a typical HALO/HAHO insertion, the airplane will fly at altitudes of up to 8,000m (26,000ft).

Tandem HALO jump at about 15,000 feet over Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.
Enlarge
Tandem HALO jump at about 15,000 feet over Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.

USASOC Military Free Fall Parachute Badge
Military Free Fall Parachute Badge

HALO/HAHO
Military free-fall form of insertion.

Purpose
Delivering personnel, equipment, or supplies.

HALO
High-Altitude/Low-Opening

HAHO
High-Altitude/High-Opening

Origins
Attributed to SEAL Team SIX and USAF Col Joe Kittinger.
Perfected by U.S. special forces.

Tech. Sgt. Don Blackwell prepares to take a class "up" in the altitude chamber at Langley AFB, Virginia.
Enlarge
Tech. Sgt. Don Blackwell prepares to take a class "up" in the altitude chamber at Langley AFB, Virginia.

Members of a British Combat Control team and members of the 62nd Special Tactics Squadron, perform a HALO jump at McChord Air Force Base, Washington.
Enlarge
Members of a British Combat Control team and members of the 62nd Special Tactics Squadron, perform a HALO jump at McChord Air Force Base, Washington.

U.S. Army paratroopers jump from a C-130 flying 25,000 feet over the Arizona desert.
Enlarge
U.S. Army paratroopers jump from a C-130 flying 25,000 feet over the Arizona desert.

Contents

HALO

The origins of the HALO technique date back to 1960 when the U.S. Air Force was conducting experiments that followed earlier work by Colonel John Stapp in the late 1940's[link] through early 1950's on survivability factors for high-flying pilots needing to eject at high altitudes. Stapp, a redoubtable research physicist and medical doctor, used himself as a human guinea pig in rocket sled tests to determine whether or not wind impact would kill ejecting pilots. Stapp also solved many of the issues involved in high altitude flight in his earliest work for the Air Force, and subjected himself to exposure to altitudes of 45,000 feet. Subsequently, he helped develop pressure suits and ejection seats, which have been used in jets ever since. As part of the experiments, on August 16, 1960, Colonel Joe Kittinger performed the first high altitude jump at an altitude of 19 miles above the Earth's surface. However, the technique was used for combat for the first time in the U.S. military involvement in Laos, when members of MACV-SOG performed the first high altitude combat jumps. SEAL Team SIX of the United States Navy expanded the HALO technique to include delivery of boats and other large items in conjunction with parachutists.

The technique is used to airdrop supplies, equipment, or personnel at high altitudes when aircraft can fly above SAM missile engagement levels through enemy skies without posing a threat to the transport or load.

For military cargo airdrops, the rigged load is pulled from the aircraft by a stabilizing parachute. The load then proceeds to free-fall to a low altitude where a cargo parachute opens to allow a low-velocity landing. Military personnel will later move to the landing point in order to secure the equipment or to unpack the supplies.

In a typical HALO exercise, the parachutists will jump from the aircraft, free-fall for a period of time at terminal velocity in a Stack Formation, and open his parachute at a low altitude. The combination of high speed downwards, and minimal metal and forward air-speed serves to defeat radar, enabling a stealthy insertion.

HAHO

The HAHO technique is used to airdrop personnel at high altitudes when aircraft can fly above enemy skies without posing a threat to the jumpers.

In a typical HAHO exercise, the jumper will jump from the aircraft and deploy his parachute at a high altitude, 10–15 seconds later after the jump (typically at 27,000 feet or so). The jumper will use a compass to guide himself while flying for 30 or more miles. The jumper will use way points and terrain features to navigate to his desired landing zone, and along the way, he must correct his course for changes in wind speed and direction; making for a tricky navigation problem.

The HAHO technique is also used for delivering military teams. The team will jump from the aircraft and form up in a stack while flying in the air with their parachutes. Usually, the jumper in the lowest position will set the travel course and act as a guide for his other team members.

Health risks

At high altitudes of the Earth's atmosphere, the oxygen quantities required for human respiration become thin. A typical HALO exercise will require the use of an oxygen mask, as the parachuter jumps from an altitude upwards of 25,000 feet.

This type of technique is dangerous to human health, as the lack of oxygen can lead to suffering hypoxia. Hypoxia may cause loss of consciousness, which in consequence puts the parachuter in a mortal risk situation, as he can suffer death from landing impact by not being capable of opening his own parachute.

Another risk is from the coldness at high altitudes. The jumper faces subzero temperatures and risks frost bite. However, they wear polypro and other warm clothing to prevent this.

As with all skydiving, participants run the risk of death or serious injury due to canopy malfunction.

Typical equipment

In a typical HALO exercise, a parachuter will jump with:

List of HALO/HAHO capable military units

References in Fiction

Further reading

External links

References

  1. Divine, Mark (2004). [Navy SEALs Air Operations - Free Fall: HALO/HAHO] (). US Navy SEAL 1989 to present. Founder of [NavySEALs.com].
  2. Allen, Jeffrey (July 1997). [High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) jump at McChord AFB]. US Air Force. United States of America.
  3. Gempis, Val (July 1997). [A Bad Altitude]. Airman. US Air Force. United States of America.
  4. Black, Mike. [HALO jump over Yuma Proving Ground, AZ]. US Marine Corps. United States of America.
  5. US DOD (June 5, 2003). [US DOD Dictionary of Military Terms]. US Department of Defense. United States of America.
  6. US DOD (June 5, 2003). [US DOD Dictionary of Military Terms: Joint Acronyms and Abbreviations]. US Department of Defense. United States of America.
  7. McKenna, Pat (July 1997). [A Bad Altitude]. Airman. US Air Force. United States of America.
  8. US Army Infantry School (November 1, 1995). [Lesson 3: Airlift Requests and Personnel Used in Airborne]. Fundamentals of Airborne Operations, Edition B. US Army Infantry School. US Army. United States of America.
  9. Mcmanners, Hugh (2003), Ultimate Special Forces

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

Search Titles
0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST
UVWXYZ?

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: