Five years ago, the NOAA Uncrewed Systems Operations Center was created to improve and expand NOAA’s uncrewed systems operations. Since then, the center has supported the rest of the agency in making significant advances in using uncrewed systems to meet mission needs.
Over the last five years the center funded over 70 projects to advance the use of uncrewed systems across NOAA. This was done in collaboration with academia, industry and other partners. Through these projects the center has transitioned 10 new uncrewed capabilities from an experimental status to an operational, or ready for operations status. Seven more technologies are on track to move to operational status in the coming years.
These projects are used to improve hurricane and extreme weather forecasts with uncrewed systems gathered data, enhance the productivity of NOAA hydrographic surveys by including uncrewed surface vehicles, detect protected species via underwater and aerial uncrewed systems and more.
The Uncrewed Systems Operations Center has also demonstrated leadership in NOAA by focusing on developing corporate capabilities, support, expertise and resources for all of NOAA to use to meet mission needs. The center has prioritized acquiring uncrewed systems that contribute to a growing corporate fleet of platforms, developing mechanisms for contracting private sector uncrewed assets and data buys, and exploring the safety and feasibility of beyond visual line of sight uncrewed aircraft operations.
NOAA is proud to share that in recognition of this work, the Uncrewed Systems Operations Center was awarded an inaugural Innovation Vanguard Award by Inside Unmanned Systems magazine. The center was specifically awarded the Sustainability Leadership award and acknowledged NOAA’s efforts to drive change with uncrewed systems through innovation, leadership, collaboration and a view of the future. These awards also recognize the foundational work that makes uncrewed systems reliable, powerful and resilient. The Uncrewed Systems Operations Center was celebrated along with other awardees at the annual XPONENTIAL 2025 conference on May 22, 2025.