Hurricane Hunters will drop new drone into Atlantic hurricanes to measure critical data

A new type of drone, released by hurricane hunter aircraft, will gather data from just above the ocean's surface, a critical new factor that improves hurricane forecasts.

For the first time, data collected by a small uncrewed aircraft system, or SUAS, flying at the ocean's surface, will be integrated into NOAA’s operational hurricane forecast model. This comes after scientists found the technology significantly improved hurricane intensity forecasts, as the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season quickly approaches.

Intensity forecasts improve with new drone data

Researchers from the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies and NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory determined that observations gathered by Black Swift Technologies’ S0 aircraft improved hurricane intensity forecast accuracy by about 10% overall when incorporated into NOAA’s Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System, known as HAFS.

The improvement was even greater for tropical storms, where intensity forecasts improved by as much as 25%, according to the study.

HAFS is NOAA’s next-generation hurricane forecast model designed to provide more reliable guidance on tropical cyclone track and intensity. The model already benefits from data collected by NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft, but scientists have long faced challenges gathering observations close to the ocean’s surface during dangerous storms.

That is where the lightweight S0 aircraft comes in.

“A 10% improvement in maximum wind errors due to the assimilation of Black Swift S0 data is huge,” said Gus Alaka, Director of the Hurricane Research Division at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Drone measures crucial weather at the surface

At only 2.6 pounds, the uncrewed aircraft can fly in the marine boundary layer, just over the ocean, a notoriously difficult environment for crewed aircraft to safely sample during hurricanes. Scientists say the region plays a critical role in storm development and strengthening.

The S0 is deployed from NOAA’s P-3 hurricane hunter aircraft and collects atmospheric observations including pressure, temperature, humidity and wind. It also gathers ocean measurements such as wave conditions and sea surface temperatures.

Those observations provide valuable insight into how heat, moisture and momentum transfer between the ocean and atmosphere during tropical cyclones.

After extensive testing and evaluation, the aircraft’s observations can now be transmitted to forecasters in real time.

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