Periodic resupply drop
From Lostpedia
The periodic resupply drop (P.R.D.) is the name given to a DHARMA Initiative procedure in which new provisions and other supplies are parachuted onto the Island. The drops appear to take place at regular intervals of about 6-8 months. It is not clear why the drops have continued long after the Purge or who is making them.
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Season 2
In Season 2, during a lockdown incident at the Swan, a large pallet of DHARMA food and supplies was found quite close to the entrance of the station by Kate and Jack. None of the survivors recalled hearing a plane fly over the Island, although the pallet and its cargo were attached to a parachute and had a flashing beacon attached. Charlie speculated that the station may have been deliberately locked down to keep the occupants from seeing who made the drop. ("Lockdown") ("Dave")
The supply drop contained a large amount of DHARMA Initiative food including boxes of Macaroni & Cheese Supper, peanut butter, risotto, ranch dressing, canned goods, and other assorted foot items. All of the items in the drop bore the code DI 9FFTR731 and were branded with the Swan logo The supply drop was scavenged by a large group of castaways including Sawyer, Charlie, Jin, Sun and Kate. Sawyer later commented that he had "enough stuff now to open a chain of mini-marts". Charlie also found a vaccine kit on the pallet when he gave it to Claire a few days later.("Lockdown") ("Dave") ("Three Minutes")
Much of the food was transferred to the beach camp and kept in an outdoor kitchen organized by Rose. ("S.O.S.") Paulo once complained that the kitchen was out of DHARMA Oat Bars. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead") Charlie gave the pallet itself to Eko to assist in the construction of his church. ("Dave")
Other Supply Drops
- In the Sri Lanka video, a clip of a helicopter is seen. The helicopter shown appears to be a Sikorsky H-5 Dragonfly, a common American helicopter dating back to the 40s and early 50s. While the clip is shown, Alvar Hanso states, "...all of the support you will need, including regular medicine and food drops will be made in perpetuity." (The Lost Experience)
- While searching the basement of the Flame, Sayid found a DHARMA binder labeled "Supply Drop Protocol." Before the station's destruction, it also appeared the Flame computer was capable of initiating drops by entering the code "24". ("Enter 77")
- Writing in his diary, Ben noted that the Others were short on provisions and the long awaited resupply of camp gear had not yet been made. This seems to suggest that multiple drops take place on the Island. ("Through the Looking Glass")
- It seems quite likely that the well-stocked pantry at The Swan was the result of previous supply drops. ("Everybody Hates Hugo")
Trivia
- A notation on the blast door map reads: "P.R.D. every 6-8 months. Fatalities: 5". ("Lockdown")
- The back of the official jigsaw puzzles revealed the notation "PRD" on the blast door map stands for "Periodic Resupply Drop".
- A large area of ground in proximity to the Pearl was cleared and salted so as to create the giant symbol of a question mark. The salt kept the symbol from becoming overgrown by the jungle and it was of sufficient size to make it clearly visible from above. ("?")
- Daniel Faraday conducted a payload experiment demonstrating a time delay of objects traveling to the Island. Later Ray's body washed up on shore at the beach apparently at a time before his own death, which suggests the time discrepancy between the Island and the rest of the world is variable in nature. This may explain why no aircraft were observed at the time of the Swan's resupply drop. ("The Economist") ("The Shape of Things to Come") ("Cabin Fever")
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
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- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Periodic resupply drop/Theories
- Why have the supply drops continued after the Purge?
- Who is making the drops?
- How do they know where to find the Island?
- How are the drops being made?
- Are additional drops being made for other DHARMA stations and facilities?
- According to the blast door map, why are there fatalities associated with the supply drops?
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