For US special operators, who may have to operate far from friendly forces in those wars, one new effort is the use of a low-tech kind of aircraft to overcome high-tech threats.
A special-operations gliderUS Army special operations soldiers load a GD-2000 glider into a C-27J airplane at Yuma Proving Grounds in February.
Thoman JohnsonIn February, a US Army Special Forces team tested a prototype aircraft that could ease the logistical challenges faced by special-operations units in contested areas.
That long glide distance is equal to what special operators can cover during a High Altitude, High Opening free-fall jump.
David Bathgate/Corbis via Getty ImagesDuring the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, the US military's resupply operations have been largely uncontested.
Persons:
—, Thoman Johnson, Yates Electrospace, David Bathgate, Stavros Atlamazoglou
Organizations:
Special Forces, Service, US Army, US Army Special Forces, Troops, Green Beret, Getty, Hellenic Army, 575th Marine Battalion, Army, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins, School, International
Locations:
China, Ukraine, Russian, Yuma, Arizona, Afghanistan, Corbis, Iraq, Syria, Russia, Johns