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When a HAHO assault was considered for the Abbottabad raid, this new system could reach the bin Laden compound from a direct flightpath between Jalalabad and Islamabad. This could enable the assault team to be transported in what would appear to be a regular flight between the two cities, and even in a no-wind situation, easily reach the target. As the prevailing wind aids the flighpath, an exit altitude of 19 000ft ASL could have been sufficient. In the book, Osama's Angel, this is treated as a viable alternative to the usual fraught helicopter insertion favored by US forces. As it turned out, HAHO insertion may well have been less embarrassing than another helicopter mishap.
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