The Airborne and Special Operations Directorate (ABNSOD) plans, executes, and reports on developmental and operational tests of aerial delivery and air transportation equipment, systems, and procedures supporting airborne and special operations forces. ABNSOD provides critical operational data to inform doctrine development, capability refinement, and the effective fielding of equipment to the Warfighter.

A forward looking and respected operational evaluation directorate that focuses on current and future war-fighting requirements through the conduct of thorough, rigorous, realistic, honest, service unique, and joint testing.

The Army’s independent operational testers for airborne, airdrop, and Joint Special Operations Forces. This unique agency is the home of the Army’s only operational test parachutists with expertise in static-line, military free-fall operations, and aerial delivery.

• Test Soldier-essential Army combat systems that can be transported in and airdropped from aircraft.
• Determine risks associated with new aircraft, systems or procedures prior to use by operational paratroopers.
• Test joint service equipment and aerial delivery methods, including:
  • Parachute systems.
  • Aerial delivery techniques for new or modified combat equipment.
  • Individual weapons or equipment used by airborne forces.
• Conduct airdrop certification for delivering equipment loads and personnel to combat zones by testing:
  • Internal loads aboard fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
  • Static line parachute procedures.
  • Military free-fall parachute procedures.
  • Low velocity or dual row airdrop loads using high performance USAF aircraft.
• Record all visual action from exit to ground impact and recovery using state-of-the-art instrumentation, such as:
  • Ground-based video systems.
  • Aerial photography from chase aircraft or paratrooper helmet-mounted cameras.
  • Global Positioning System (GPS)-based instrumentation attached to jumpers and equipment loads.
  • High-speed videography and digital still photography.

OEC’s most unique directorate is the Airborne and Special Operations Directorate (ABNSOD) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The ABNSOD formally began as a service board activated in December 1944 at Camp Mackall, North Carolina. Its history can be traced back through the testing and developing section of the Airborne Command, organized in 1942 at Camp Mackall, to the original parachute test platoon, activated at Fort Benning, Georgia, in June 1940. Following the end of World War II, the Airborne Board was incorporated into the Army Ground Forces Board on 1 October 1945.

As a direct descendant of the original parachute test platoon in 1940, this directorate is not only responsible for the testing of new parachutes and airborne equipment but is also chartered to certify every item of Army equipment to be airdropped, airlifted, or in any way transported or delivered by Army or Air Force aircraft.

Certification for every class and type of aircraft for airdrop of personnel and equipment, including new military, foreign, and commercial aircraft, comes as a result of testing by this directorate and is finalized with the publication of approved airdrop rigging procedures in the appropriate technical and training manuals. Directorate personnel perform extensive testing of Soldier equipment to be employed in airborne operations, ranging from new personnel parachute systems to any new or modified combat equipment or individual weapons systems.

ABNSOD has the critical responsibility for providing dynamic, responsive, and quality testing in order to meet the needs of the airborne and special operations communities.