India Successfully Tests High-Altitude Combat Parachute System In Ladakh

The Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation has successfully tested its Military Combat Parachute System at one of the world’s highest-altitude drop zones in Ladakh.

The trials were carried out at Nyoma in south-eastern Ladakh, close to the Line of Control. The Indian Air Force recently commissioned an airbase at Nyoma, among the highest in the world for fighter aircraft operations.

The MCPS was designed and developed by DRDO’s Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment in Agra and the Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory in Bengaluru.

During the trial, ADRDE test jumpers Wing Commander Rahul Jha, Master Warrant Officer R.J. Singh and Master Warrant Officer Vivek Tiwari executed a jump from an altitude of 22,000 feet above mean sea level. The parachute was deployed at 20,000 feet, and the jumpers landed safely at 13,700 feet. The trial was conducted in temperatures as low as minus 15°C.

The test jumpers used the MCPS along with all other indigenous sub-systems, including a para computer, oxygen system and jumpsuits.

The successful trial demonstrated the efficacy, reliability and tactical employability of the MCPS in extreme high-altitude conditions, reinforcing India’s commitment to self-reliance in critical defence technologies.

This follows an earlier successful combat freefall test of the same system from 32,000 feet in October 2025, which made the MCPS the only parachute system in operational use by the Indian Armed Forces capable of deployment above 25,000 feet.