Supply Drops in The Division

Supply Drops are an in-game event that occurs in Tom Clancy's The Division. There are 2 types of Supply Drops, "Light Zone" supply drops and Dark Zone supply drops.

Both drops contain the same general items; 3 pieces of gear or weapons with gear score scaled to the players world tier and current gear score, and 15 Phoenix Credits. However, the way these events occur varies.

Light Zone Drops
Supply Drops occur in the open-world (codenamed "Light Zone") for Season Pass holders only. These drops occur twice a month (one on the 1st of the month, another on the 15th of the month). When these supply drops reached the ground, the player could then retrieve it. However, standing in the players way is 3-6 Elite tier enemies. Once the player has cleared out these enemies, and possibly the roaming enemies around the area, the player is then free to pick up the drop.

Despite statements by Massive Entertainment that the Supply Drops from Season Passes would be done after April 1, 2017, they continue to be dropped in game for Season Pass holders, regardless of platform.

Update 1.8.1 added an extra reward of 100 Division Tech to Season Pass supply drops, with a 10% chance for Classified Gear Sets.

Dark Zone Drops
Supply Drops inside the Dark Zone occur periodically with no exact timing; as of Update 1.7 the frequency appears to be once an hour. Anyone playing on the same Dark Zone server (or its Checkpoints) when the drops are announced will receive an alert from ISAC as well as a visual alert on their screen. A total of 9 supply drops will be marked on the map shortly after the alert is issued. Each section of the dark zone gets a supply drop, the supply drop is placed in a random location in that section (i.e. the supply drop for DZ01 will drop in a random location inside DZ01).

Once the drops touch down, all players have 5 minutes to claim any/all of the drops, due to the fact that they will expire at the same time. Any players that attempt to claim a drop will have to face a squad of Elite enemies, along with a named boss. The factions guarding the drops are randomized and may not be one of the more prominent faction in the area. Once all of the enemies are cleared; the drop(s) may be claimed. Alternatively, a player does have the option of just running to the drop and attempting to claim it. However, this is not advised, as any damage a player receives while claiming the drop staggers the claiming meter. It is also possible to let the opposing factions "fight it out" and claim the drop while they are "busy".

Items received from these drops are decontaminated and are automatically added to the players inventory. However, the loot from any of the guards DOES need to be extracted.