Military HALO opening altitude?

[Westerly 61]

I have been curious what the military considers 'low altitude' in terms of HALO jumps. When do they open?

Wikipedia says "In a typical HALO exercise, the parachutist will jump from the aircraft, free-fall for a period of time at terminal velocity, and open their parachute at an altitude as low as 800 feet. "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-altitude_military_parachuting

However, I call BS. Not deploying your main until 800' would guarantee an AAD activation not to mention that's completely unrealistic for tons of reasons. I few sources quoted opening altitudes of 3000 - 4000', which seems more realistic, but I couldent find any references citing their claims.

So has anyone actually done a HALO jump in the military or know of their procedures?

[Shiv 0]

they only open at 800 feet when they cant find the handle...
From personal experience a "normal" opening altitude is realistic (depending on location and gear used).

[steeve555 0]

We usually started our pull sequence at 4500. Usually in the saddle about 4200. This was a normal non combat jump. I never made a real Combat insertion. Opening altitude could be dictated by mission.

[riggerrob 558]

The term HALO distinguishes it from HAHO.
As an another poster suggested, typical HALO openings are in the 5,000 to 3,000’ similar to sport jumpers.
OTOH High Altitude High Opening jumpers typically open within 10 seconds of exit (maybe 25,000’) and fly their open canopies towards their target. With strong tail winds, HAHO jumpers can cover 25 miles, creating too large an area for defending troops to search.

[slotperfect 7]

IIRC the US Military's definition of HAHO includes openings above 6,000 FT AGL, and overall minimum opening altitude being 3,500 FT AGL. Thus, a HALO would include openings 3,500 - 6,000 FT AGL.

You may also see "HAMO" which refers to openings (roughly) in the 8K to 10K range, but that's not an official term.

Arrive Safely

John

[potatoman 0]

For a moment I was trying to figure out what type of a jump a OTOH was.

You have the right to your opinion, and I have the right to tell you how Fu***** stupid it is.
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Whatever you do, don't listen to ChrisD.

[Pkrwd 0]

I never was HALO qualified but made about a hundred static line jumps with the 82d Airborne and 20th SF Group. Our usual exit was at 1200 feet and our combat jumps were at 750. You're right. We were warned that the reserve would not have time to deploy correctly on a combat jump.