Red Berets to be grounded after Whitehall parachute delay

BRITAIN’S paratroopers will soon be unable to carry out jumps because of a delay in getting the right kind of parachutes.

The Parachute Regiment is set to be grounded next year as its soldiers are trained to use new canopies that were not purchased in time because of Whitehall delays, The Mail on Sunday reported.

Their procurement came only after Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, personally intervened to expedite the process, according to the paper.

The Red Berets are expected to halt combat jumps until its troops have been fully trained in deploying the new type of parachute.

The unit, based in Colchester, Essex, is the only force in the world that uses Low Level Parachutes (LLP), which enable paras to jump at just 450ft – below radar – from C-130J Hercules aircraft.

However, the Royal Air Force’s fleet of 14 Hercules planes will be scrapped next year as part of a raft of defence cuts announced in 2021.

It will be replenished with 22 Airbus A400M “Atlas” planes, an aircraft that has been beset by problems preventing its use for low-level jumps, and cannot safely accommodate LLPS.

Paras have therefore been told they must instead use the MC-6, a different parachute that has been tested and approved by the Ministry of Defence, when jumping from the new aircraft.

But the RAF has not completed the training required for mass paratroop drops using “Atlas” aircraft and the new parachutes, meaning they will not be operational in time for when the last Hercules is retired.

A senior source told The Mail on Sunday there had been “no movement” to “resolve the issue and start jumping from the A400” ahead of the Hercules being phased out next year.

Despite having “pressed” the chain of command for a decision, the source said they “doubt” there is time to “equip the aircraft, train pilots and generate jump instructors” by next year.

An MOD spokesman told The Daily Telegraph that high-altitude capabilities would not be impacted by the operational lag, while some low-level capabilities would be feasible by next year.

“The A400M Capability Programme has successfully accelerated the estimated delivery dates for all parachuting activity,” he said.

“The Atlas can already air-drop a range of supplies and equipment and is planned to have a high-altitude parachuting capability before the Hercules goes out of service, with a low-level parachuting capability shortly thereafter.

“A low-level mass parachuting capability will be delivered in 2023.”