Background
When NOAA was looking to augment their fleet of unmanned aircraft with a low-cost, air-deployed UAS able to sample kinematics and thermodynamics of the lower part of the boundary layer, they chose Black Swift’s S0 Air Deployed UAS. Engineered from the ground up to excel in challenging environments, this compact yet durable aerial platform redefines atmospheric research.
Designed by Black Swift Technologies to reduce weight while maintaining endurance and measurement quality, the Black Swift S0 Air Deployed offers unmatched performance at a fraction of the cost of traditional platforms. These characteristics proved equally valuable to the United States Air Force in their search for a tactical weather drone able to autonomously conduct atmospheric profiling supporting more accurate cargo drops and improved localized weather forecasts for Air Force and Special Operations Forces.
Weighing in at just 1.2 kg (2.6 lbs), the S0 Air Deployed is the lightest platform ever to successfully sample a tropical cyclone. It enables sampling from the lowest and most dangerous regions of a tropical cyclone, a necessary capability as part of NOAA’s hurricane research initiative.
Flying Where Manned Aircraft Cannot
The Black Swift S0 air deployed flies where manned aircraft cannot, able to communicate up to 125 nautical miles (231 km) and fly for over 100 minutes in treacherous conditions, 25 minutes at 10 meters (32.8 ft) above the sea surface. With a maximum flight endurance of 100 minutes, it integrates a robust sensor suite to swiftly capture 3-dimensional wind measurements along with pressure, temperature, and humidity (PTH) measurements, sea surface temperature, and vehicle height from the water at lower altitudes.
The interface of the atmosphere and the ocean is critical in understanding how a tropical cyclone works, how it gets its energy, and how the momentum of the storm is transferred to the sea. Uncrewed aircraft systems like the S0 are proving themselves to be the platform of choice to gather this information by being able to fly where manned aircraft cannot. Its state-of-the-art avionics support fully autonomous operations with minimal training, featuring automated sampling patterns and scripting for streamlined “launch-and-forget” missions.
The air deployed variant of the S0 is packaged with a drop tube and a parachute, which is launched for the P-3 Orion during deployment. The parachute acts to orient the tube vertically, at which point the aircraft drops the protective tube and the swivel wing design allows for a seamless transition to flight.
Unique Problems Require Unique Solutions
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