US Air Force awards WindBorne contract worth up to $49 million — TechCrunch

The US Air Force has signed a contract with WindBorne Systems worth up to $49 million to purchase data collected by its autonomous weather balloons. The agency will pay for data as needed and will be able to order measurements for specified regions at specific times, TechCrunch reports.

First orders

So far, the US Air Force has ordered $1.7 million worth of data. This is the largest contract in which WindBorne has participated. Company co-founder and chief technology officer Andriy Sushko said that the deal was awarded without competitive bidding. According to him, the US government identified WindBorne as the only company capable of providing the global data-collection capabilities needed for operations.

Sushko also noted that the contract could support further expansion of the balloon network as well as research and development to improve equipment and vehicle performance. WindBorne was founded in 2015 and is based in Redwood City, California. The company has about 700 weather balloons flying in different parts of the world.

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Data for AI models

The balloons collect atmospheric sensor readings, which WindBorne sells to customers and uses in its own artificial intelligence-based weather forecasting model. The company is among the first organizations to directly use empirical data in a deep machine-learning model for weather forecasting.

In the summer, WindBorne introduced WeatherMesh 6 and said that the model delivers more accurate forecasts than the traditional model of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which simulates the atmosphere using the laws of physics. In August, the company also became the first organization to direct an unpowered aerial system to collect data in the eye of a typhoon. It controls the balloons’ movement by changing their altitude, releasing air, or dropping sand used as ballast.