Portuguese Special Forces Test Air-To-Sea Parachute Deployment

Elite members of the Portuguese Marine Corps have taken part in an at-sea deployment exercise involving the nation's Navy, Army and Air Force.

The trial on Tuesday marked the first time its forces had deployed in this way via a jump using manually opened parachutes, as per a recent Portuguese Navy press statement.

Ten members of the Destacamento de Ações Especiais (DAE),  the Portuguese Marine Corps' top-tier special forces unit, were dropped into the sea off the Portuguese coast from a KC390 aircraft belonging to the Portuguese Air Force, along with a  semi-rigid boat.

After entering the water, the team were picked up by the group of boats from the Marines' Landing Means Unit (UMD), which were on board the Viana do Castelo-class Ocean Patrol Vessel (OPV) NRP Sines.

• You can read more details on the Portuguese Navy website