CUBE System Looks to Make Water and Fuel Resupply Easier

Whether it is Patton’s Third Army during World War II or a Special Forces unit operating from a remote FOB in the Afghan mountains, getting fuel and water is a constant problem and necessity. We know this because without fuel our vehicles cannot run and without water our soldiers cannot function.  One of the current methods of resupplying soldiers with water and fuel is to airdrop it in 50-gallon drums or 500-gallon blivets. These containers, however, take up a lot of space (especially when you are operating out of an already tiny FOB) and are cumbersome to handle (especially when you are trying to lug them back over harsh terrain).  A new system, however, is looking to replace this old method and make the process of resupplying soldiers with essential liquids more efficient at all stages of the logistical process.

                The Container Unitized Bulk Equipment system or CUBE allows for delivery via sling-load, airdrop, or ground transport. It contains sling-load nets, two crate-like plastic containers, and two 400-gallon fuel blivets or water bladders. This new system can potentially cut the cost of resupplying water and fuel by fifty-percent and the stackable, collapsible nature of the CUBE units allows them to take up less space on the FOB, be re-purposed somewhere else, and it makes them easier to transport back to logistics hubs where they can be restocked. This is in complete contrast to blivets or fuel drums that are extremely heavy, cumbersome, and difficult to manage during transportation, use, and storage. This allows units deployed deep within a country to leave a much smaller footprint and this is better for the people and the environment.

                  Test drops back in 2011 proved to be very successful. Each CUBE system was delivered via dual 100-foot parachutes from 1,000 feet up. This is also a significantly better system for supplying small FOBs because there will be a significant cut-down on the amount of parachutes needed to effectively resupply a unit. This means less time and energy spent dealing with extraneous matter like parachutes, rigging, or sling-load nets-all of which require precious resources to deal with.