Original article published by NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations on July 31, 2025.
Uncrewed systems are a rapidly emerging tool for NOAA in hurricane research and forecasting as they allow researchers to gather data from otherwise inaccessible regions of the storm. While some uncrewed system deployments in hurricanes have already been shown to improve hurricane intensity forecasts, others still require further research and development. Prior to hurricane season, NOAA tests new and updated emerging technologies in non-storm environments, or “clear air,” to consider incorporating them into the hurricane reconnaissance program.
In June 2025, the NOAA Uncrewed Systems Operations Center, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Aircraft Operations Center, and industry partner Dragoon tested the deployment of an emerging technology for NOAA’s hurricane research – the Dragoon Coriolis uncrewed aircraft. The Coriolis was developed with prior support from NOAA’s Small Business Innovation Research Program to develop a single-use uncrewed aircraft that could fly in marine environments and support NOAA’s Weather-Ready Nation initiative.
This uncrewed aircraft is intended to be launched from land and flown into a hurricane before the storm makes landfall. It must be flown remotely and beyond visual line of sight, sometimes more than 100 miles away. The project team completed the significant milestone of receiving a Federal Aviation Administration Certificate of Waiver and Authorization to fly beyond visual line of sight in an established transit corridor through the national airspace. This corridor connects the uncrewed aircraft launch site to international airspace outside of the U.S. territorial airspace border at 12 nautical miles offshore. Once in international airspace, the uncrewed aircraft is operated under Due Regard, ensuring the safety of other airspace users.
During the clear air test flights, the project team demonstrated the feasibility of the mission by successfully flying the Coriolis beyond visual line of sight through the transit corridor and out to 30 miles offshore. While in flight, the uncrewed aircraft was able to stream its position and weather data in real time back to the land-based project team, who maintained communications with one of NOAA’s WP-3D Hurricane Hunter aircraft supporting clear air testing in the area. The testing was successful but also highlighted areas for further development to enable the use of this technology for operations in NOAA’s hurricane reconnaissance program.