In the event of the next international disaster, Operation Snowdrop could deliver food, building supplies and military equipment to the scene within one day, if permission is given by a relevant government.

As reported by The National Student in November, supplies delivered by Operation Snowdrop are dropped from aircraft by methods that allow the food packages (Humanitarian Daily Rations, or HDRs) to ‘flutter’ to the ground without risk of hurting those that are there to collect them.

Snowdrop have also developed means of dropping machinery, building materials and even military equipment safely from air-craft.

Organisation founder Geoffery Woodward recently began legal proceedings against the United States government for their alleged copying of Snowdrop’s methods in Afghanistan which began on October 8 2001.

As reported in The National Student, the United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced that the US would be using the same aid-distribution process as Snowdrop.

The Americans used a ‘Tri-wall’ method that was the same as ‘Snowdropping’.

However, the Americans made the packages bright yellow, the same yellow as unexploded cluster bombs dropped in these areas.

The American ‘Tri-Wall’ food packages, which were to feed very hungry people, gave up space to include children’s toys, and as a result small children picked up unexploded cluster bombs mistaking them for food and toy packages.

General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, was quoted as saying, "It is unfortunate that the cluster bombs, the unexploded ones, are the same colour as the food packets. Unfortunately, they get used to running to yellow."

The Pentagon also said that it would be changing the colour of the ration packs, but according to Mr Woodford it hasn’t done so yet.

Although Snowdropping was used successfully in East Timor under the supervision of Mr Woodford, and the Americans used their version in Afghanistan, and despite 100,000 rations being already available in Belgium, the method was not used to supply survivors of the Tsunami last year.

Further to this Mr Woodford claims that Snowdrop was available to use in almost all the major disasters since 1993, including Rwanda, Sudan, Croatia, Sarajevo and the Mozambique floods. However, the food was delivery was denied.

Mr Woodford says that the Snowdrop method can be made available to deliver instant food, equipment and supplies to any place on the globe within one day.

It is inevitable that there will be further disasters of global scale and Mr Woodford says, "The world community is quite capable of arranging stores of aid supplies that can be distributed by Snowdropping at very short notice, I can arrange that."