While well known for hurricane research and reconnaissance missions, the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center provides aircraft support for a variety of missions year round. There is no off-season for science, nor for our fleet of 10 NOAA aircraft, including two WP-3D Orions, one Gulfstream IV-SP, four Twin Otters, and three King Airs. Learn more about our various aircraft and their diverse missions below.
WP-3D Orion
NOAA’s pair of Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft, also known as “Kermit” and “Miss Piggy,” are essential to our hurricane research and reconnaissance flights. They fly into the center of storms, passing through the eyewall several times to collect data to help improve intensity forecasts.
These versatile propeller-driven aircraft are equipped with a variety of scientific instrumentation for measurements of the atmosphere, the Earth, and its environment.
In other parts of the year, the NOAA WP-3D aircraft support the Ocean Winds Flight Experiment Program. During Ocean Winds missions, they obtain measurements of the ocean surface in various environmental conditions, particularly during extreme wind events.
Outside of hurricane season, this involves flying through North Atlantic extratropical cyclones and Eastern Pacific tropical cyclones during the winter. The program’s primary objectives include calibrating and validating ocean surface remote-sensing products and techniques, exploring new remote-sensing instrument capabilities, and enhancing understanding of the physics at the air-sea interface.
Additionally, the WP-3D, along with NOAA's Gulfstream IV-SP and King Air aircraft, contribute to the Gravity for the Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum (GRAV-D) project by carrying specialized sensors to measure changes in gravity. Accurate height measurements derived from the GRAV-D project will benefit various scientific endeavors, including improved floodplain mapping, coastal resource management, construction, agriculture, and emergency evacuation planning across the nation.
Gulfstream IV-SP
NOAA's Gulfstream IV-SP jet, also known as “Gonzo,” spends hurricane season collecting vital meteorological data above the storm to enhance the accuracy of storm track forecasts.
During the “off-season” the G-IV conducts targeted missions over the Northeast Pacific to investigate atmospheric rivers. Atmospheric rivers, often likened to “rivers in the sky,” transport substantial amounts of water vapor and can result in significant precipitation and flooding upon reaching land.
These missions aim to improve forecasting abilities of atmospheric river events’ landfall and impacts along the U.S. West Coast for improved water management and flood forecasting.
Twin Otter
NOAA’s De Havilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otter aircraft play a vital role in various survey missions, including monitoring marine mammal populations such as Alaska harbor seals and North Atlantic right whales. Equipped with bubble windows and a belly mounted camera, they provide an ideal platform for these surveys.
Additionally, these aircraft support NOAA’s National Ocean Service Remote Sensing Division in coastal mapping projects, capturing bathymetric LiDAR and aerial imagery of coastal areas across the United States and its territories to update nautical charts, topographic maps by the U.S. Geological Survey, and the floodplain maps by FEMA.
They also assist in emergency response efforts, providing real time damage assessment imagery to local, state, and federal agencies following natural or manmade disasters.
King Air
Throughout the year, NOAA’s Beechcraft King Air aircraft conduct snow survey missions which measure the water content in soil and snowpack. This information is crucial for predicting snowmelt patterns, which significantly impact freshwater runoff, streamflow, reservoir recharge, and groundwater replenishment. Given the link between snowmelt and catastrophic floods, understanding snowpack water content is essential for effective flood, water supply, and drought forecasting.
Like the Twin Otters, these aircraft also support coastal mapping projects by capturing aerial imagery of coastal waters across the United States to update nautical charts, topographic maps by the U.S. Geological Survey, and the floodplain maps by FEMA. They also assist in emergency response efforts, providing real time damage assessment imagery to local, state, and federal agencies following natural or manmade disasters.