Improved Weather Information for Non-Traditional and Resilient Sensing

Operational Support Squadrons in the Department of the Air Force (DAF) face significant challenges in managing diverse airfield, airspace, and flight scheduling operations due to the impact of inclement weather on mission success, aircraft performance, and safety. Weather conditions critically affect commanders' time/space assumptions during operation planning, with severe weather potentially halting flying operations and damaging unprotected aircraft. For instance, during Operation Allied Force in 1999, stormy spring weather disrupted air operations for the first 45 days, forcing many pilots to return with their bombs and causing the cancellation of most missions on some nights. Furthermore, gaps in coverage over large areas not regularly observed by sensors or weather stations (Australia/Oceana, the Pacific, Africa, and Eastern Europe) can lead to a critical lack of information required for proper mission planning. The need for non-traditional sensors to improve sensing density, accuracy, and coverage is crucial for building current observations in support of global reconnaissance operations. Curley Enterprises' FrostyFlake algorithm offers a solution by utilizing AI/ML to analyze vast amounts of publicly available data, including camera networks, weather monitoring stations, satellites, and radar, to provide hyper-localized, real-time weather insights. This approach could potentially minimize the effects of weather on operations, saving lives, time, and money while enhancing domain awareness for Joint Force commanders across multiple geographic locations. Curley Enterprises’ FrostyFlake technology addresses this need by complementing existing systems, infrastructure, and processes to enhance observation density, accuracy, and coverage. By integrating non-traditional sensors and resulting data, FrostyFlake strengthens the overall weather intelligence capability, making it more robust, resilient, and adaptable to changing operational needs. Its rapid deployment and ability to fill critical gaps bolster mission planning, situational awareness, and operational effectiveness, ensuring commanders have the best possible environmental intelligence to support their decisions.