New Extraction Systems Available Shortly

IrvinGQ (formerly Airborne Services) specialises in aerial delivery systems, and revealed at LIMA 2023 in Langkawi that a new extraction system will soon be available for its Atax and Pribad systems.

The most critical phase of any airdrop system comes when the load is released from the aircraft. Andrew Herrod, Business Development Manager at IrvinGQ, highlighted that the new system – compatible with any aerial delivery system in its range – is the first of its kind in the world. “IrvinGQ’s extraction system completely removes industry-recognised single point of failure rather than mitigating it; no other known system can do this. The extraction system is purely mechanical and rugged. This removes [the] major burden of pyrotechnic and electrical components, vastly simplifying integration”. Another advantage, apart from removing pyrotechnics from aircraft, is that full functional checks of safety systems may be performed while installed. The system can be rapidly reset in the air following a jettison, for example.

The Atax system, an aluminium platform to which parachutes are attached, can drop a JLTV-sized vehicle, while there is also a marine version for dropping vessels such as rigid-hulled inflatable boats measuring up to 6.5m long. The company also makes personnel parachutes, brake chutes for aircraft such as Malaysia’s Hawk jet trainers, plus every Martin Baker ejection seat includes an IrvinGQ parachute.

Naval decoys – used by all Five Eyes navies apart from Australia – also figure in IrvinGQ’s product range. Herrod views the ASEAN region as a priority market for the company.

Gordon Arthur reporting from Langkawi