March 10, New Delhi – The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy jointly conducted four successful in-flight release trials of the indigenous Air Droppable Container ‘ADC-150’ from the P8I aircraft off the coast of Goa between February 21 to March 01, 2026, under various extreme release conditions.
Designed and developed indigenously to deliver a 150 kg payload, the Air Droppable Container enhances the naval operational logistics capabilities for providing quick response to distressed naval vessels, requiring critical stores/equipment, medical assistance, etc., in blue water deployments far from the coast.
The Naval Science & Technological Laboratory, Visakhapatnam is the nodal laboratory for this activity. The Aerial Delivery Research & Development Establishment, Agra, developed the parachute system, and the Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification, Bengaluru, provided flight clearance and certification. The Defence Research & Development Laboratory, Hyderabad, provided the instrumentation support for the trials.
To meet the requirements of the Indian Navy, the ADC-150 system for the P8I aircraft was developed and qualified within a short timeframe. Since all the developmental flight trials have been successfully completed, the system is expected to be inducted into the Indian Navy soon.