Hosted Payloads Offers Remedy for Looming Air Force Weather Forecasting Gap: The importance of accurate weather forecasting to the Air Force can't be overstated. "Weather can be our greatest ally or our strongest adversary," the service says in a pitch to recruit weather officers.
History provides evidence of both points. A sandstorm forecasted five days in advance prompted a change of plans that aided the successful U.S. attack on Baghdad in 2003. Conversely, a surprise sandstorm contributed to the collision of a transport plane and a helicopter in the unsuccessful attempt to rescue U.S. hostages in Iraq in 1980.
Why then is the Air Force aborting its pitch to the satellite industry to cope with looming gaps in collecting high-priority weather data? And why is the service turning to an international partnership to gather data when industry offers a solution: hosted payloads?
