Thanks for the replies.

I wondered if anyone with "airborne" experience could explain how the UKicon/Commonwealth airforces would go about dropping a sniper's rifle on a drop, please? Would the scope stay on the rifle or be removed for the drop? Would the rifle and scope be dropped with the sniper or would the rifle and scope be packed in a container and dropped separately? If the rifle and sniper are dropped separately then there is a possibility of having a sniper without a rifle or having a rifle without a sniper. But if the rifle and scope is dropped with the sniper how is the rifle and scope protected from damage during the drop?