Switzerland-based weather intelligence and drone developer Meteomatics will today (May 23) launch its first US Meteodrone at the Grand Sky unmanned aerial system (UAS) aviation park at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota.
Meteomatics will work with weather forecaster TruWeather Solutions to eliminate the gap in visibility in the lower-to-mid atmosphere, a region that is not accurately observed by the national weather observation networks’ existing weather sensing technology.
According to the developers, the launch of the first state-wide micro weather service will equip North Dakota with real-time weather forecasts (within 20 milliseconds) that are nine times more granular than the best government services currently available. The first use case for the service will be within Grand Sky’s Weather Operations Center, where it will use the hyper-local forecasts to predict flying conditions for drones and flight operators, reducing risk and enabling more flights in and out of the park.
The autonomous flight system is the US’s first drone-based micro-weather service, able to fly up to 6,100m above the Earth’s surface. Visibility at this level is critical for predictability and reliability in aviation, as well as business forecasting across industries.
Meteomatics has developed a high-resolution forecast model for North Dakota that accounts for all of the weather details, data points and parameters within a given square kilometer. This model will power TruWeather’s decision analytics, enabling real-time weather forecasts.
Paul Walsh, CEO of North America at Meteomatics, said, “The work we’re doing with Grand Sky and TruWeather Solutions showcases the real-world need for extremely accurate weather data, and how it can affect mission-critical decisions around the clock. This isn’t just true of the aviation space; weather plays a huge role in how organizations across the world operate. We are proud of our new partnership, the light it will shine on the current gaps in visibility, and the opportunities that will open as a result of filling them.”
Thomas Swoyer Jr, president of Grand Sky, said, “We pride ourselves on many firsts in the UAS field; this new micro-weather service will now be a first for the state and the country. More importantly, it will result in reduced risk and more flights from and around Grand Sky. We’ve been working with an exceptional team to develop ‘first of its kind’ capabilities and processes here at Grand Sky. Meteomatics, TruWeather Solutions, Northern Plains Test Site and the 319th Reconnaissance Wing each brought unique skill sets to get this project where it is. Together, we’ve developed a robust weather data collection system unlike anything else in the country, so we can bring high-accuracy weather forecasts to Grand Sky.”
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