Watch the Airforce Drop Five Armored Humvees Out of a Plane Cruising at 5000 Feet

Military forces are constantly testing equipment procedures and process in order to be best prepared for a time of real conflict. Often this can be seemingly boring drills repeated over and over again. Occasionally it involves dropping really heavy things out of an airplane. Like a Humvee for instance. That’s what happened in Fort Bragg in North Carolina when the Air Force dropped five armored humvees out of an aircraft cruising at 5000 ft!

Each vehicle was equipped with three parachutes that delivered the specialized equipment to earth with a nice soft landing. The training exercise was completed by the US airmen from the 16th Airlift Squadron at Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina. The Humvee drop was as part of an annual training exercise aimed to test the Air Force's quick response time and ability to mobilize under crisis conditions. The yearly test is called Operation Crescent and interrogates the base's capabilities at all levels. The Humvees were dropped from a C-17 Globemaster, one of the largest transport planes operated by the Air Force.

Humvees are technically called High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles. Their nickname comes from their abbreviation, HMMWV. These lightweight trucks are produced by AM General and have played a huge role in the US military. Most notably on the Gulf War where they were able to take on the harsh desert condition of Iraq. The Gulf War was known for its close and in-depth media coverage shot on the front lines. Images of Humvees carrying troops became synonymous with the US campaign. These images in part helped inspire the design and popularity of the civilian version of the car, the ‘Hummer’.