Overview of airborne oceanic survey capabilities of the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center

The NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) operates a fleet of nine aircraft based in Tampa, FL at MacDill AFB. These aircraft can be configured to meet specific scientific requirements and have been successfully used to conduct a full range of airborne oceanic research around the globe. While best known for its role as “Hurricane Hunters”, AOC deploys its planes from the Arctic Ocean to the Tropics in a wide variety of missions. The two WP-3D Orion aircraft have played a key role in oceanic research for nearly four decades. This presentation will provide an overview of the types of oceanic research missions conducted by the four engine turboprop WP-3D, with an emphasis on the capabilities of the Orion as an airborne platform to exploit emerging technologies supporting advances in oceanic survey techniques. Additionally, AOC operates three types of light aircraft that perform a wide range of remote sensing roles (both overland and overwater) along with several experimental unmanned aerial systems (UASs). The NOAA WP-3Ds first became operational in 1976 but have undergone a number of programmatic upgrades in recent years. Over the next three years both WP-3Ds will undergo a comprehensive 14 month service life extension maintenance project where significant portions of the wings, tail and avionics are being replaced (along with 4 upgraded Rolls Royce engines). This is expected to extend the service life an additional 20+ years. Each Orion can deploy dozens of Airborne Expendable Bathythermographs (AXBTs) on missions through a combination of external and internal buoy launch tubes. Conductivity Temperature and Depth (AXCTDs) and Current Profilers (AXCPs) can also be launched (but only using an internal free fall chute). More than 70 buoys were deployed on some missions in the Gulf of Mexico in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. In 1983, oceanographic research flights between Mexico and Ecuador studying El Nino launched over 100 buoys per mission. With the capability to fly at low altitudes for mission durations of up to 10 hours (covering tracks in excess of 3000 km in length), the WP-3D has an unmatched track record of success in its ability to survey the ocean. In addition to the Orion, AOC operates four de Havilland (DHC-6) Twin Otter aircraft as well as a Gulfstream Turbo (Jet Prop) Commander 1000 (695A) and a Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER. Each is a proven remote sensing platform with the capability to loiter at low altitude over the ocean and collect data. Finally, for the past few years AOC has been operating a small number of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) including the Puma, which has been successfully deployed from NOAA research vessels, and the Coyote launched from the Orion.