DRDO Tests Indigenous Combat Parachute System From 22,000 Feet in Sub-Zero Ladakh

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Wednesday tested its indigenous Military Combat Parachute System (MCPS) at one of the world's highest drop zones. Test jumpers leaped from 22,000 feet above mean sea level, in temperatures of minus 15°C. The trial was conducted at the Nyoma-Mudh drop zone in Leh district of eastern Ladakh, close to the Line of Control.

The parachute opened at 20,000 feet, and the jumpers landed safely at 13,700 feet, the same elevation as the nearby Indian Air Force airbase at Nyoma, among the highest fighter bases in the world. Three test jumpers from DRDO's Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) carried out the mission: Wing Commander Rahul Jha, the chief test jumper; Master Warrant Officer R.J. Singh; and Master Warrant Officer Vivek Tiwari. They used the full MCPS suite, including an indigenous para computer, oxygen system and jumpsuits designed for extreme cold and thin air.

The Military Combat Parachute System was developed by ADRDE in Agra, with life-support and physiological systems from the Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL) in Bengaluru. Its features include a lower rate of descent to reduce landing shock, improved steering so jumpers can fly to a designated zone rather than drift with the wind, and compatibility with NavIC, India's regional satellite navigation system, making it less vulnerable to GPS jamming. It also supports high-altitude high-opening and high-altitude low-opening jump profiles used in special operations.

This was not the first extreme-altitude test of the MCPS. In October 2025, Indian Air Force test jumpers completed a combat freefall from 32,000 feet, with the canopy deploying around 30,000 feet, making the MCPS the only parachute system then in operational use with the Indian armed forces that could be deployed above 25,000 feet. Wednesday's trial added a jump into a real high-altitude drop zone in sub-zero temperatures, closer to how the system would be used along the northern border than a freefall over a conventional range.

DRDO said the trial demonstrated the system's 'efficacy, reliability and tactical employability' in extreme high-altitude conditions. Nyoma, near the Line of Control in south-eastern Ladakh, has an Indian Air Force base capable of fighter operations, and the drop zone has already been used for para-dropping troops, vehicles and equipment. The successful trial does not by itself complete the system's induction into service; the armed forces still need production at scale, training pipelines and more operational jumps with combat loads.