The US Air Force is spending millions on data collected by massive autonomous weather balloons

Date:
Sun, 18 Oct 2026 00:05:00 +0000

Description:
The US Air Force could spend $49 million on WindBorne's weather balloon data, although orders currently stand at $1.7 million.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter WindBorne's weather balloon fleet secures a potential $49 million Air Force contract The military has ordered $1.7 million in data so far WindBorne operates about 700 balloons collecting atmospheric measurements worldwide WindBorne Systems has secured a potential $49 million US Air Force agreement, allowing the military to purchase atmospheric measurements gathered by autonomous balloons worldwide.

The California startup operates about 700 balloons, supplying readings to paying customers that use the data to develop AI systems capable of forecasting weather conditions. Unlike conventional aircraft, WindBorne's balloons change altitude to encounter winds carrying them toward particular locations, adjusting buoyancy through air release and sand ballast. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: Military spending supports WindBorne's expanding balloon network The company uses atmospheric models to guide these movements, combining predictive software with an extensive fleet to place balloons where useful measurements can be collected.

Back in August 2026, WindBorne became the first company to guide an unpowered flight system into the typhoon's eye, collecting data from the typhoon. You may like US Army backs giant surveillance balloons with $447m contract
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Thats a pretty novel step, and the two ingredients for that are one, having good wind and weather models, and knowing how to navigate them; and two, having a large enough constellation that you have balloons in the right places, said Andrey Sushko, co-founder and CTO of WindBorne Systems.

Its one of the first times that a deep-learning model was used for actual operational decisions. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners
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The military agreement allows the Air Force to request measurements for particular locations and periods instead of purchasing a fixed quantity of information upfront.

Although the deal carries a maximum value of $49 million, actual spending depends on military needs and so far, the military has placed orders worth about $1.7 million.

This is largely a vehicle through which continued growth of the constellation can be supported, as well as some work on research and development to
continue to improve the hardware and performance of the balloons, Sushko told TechCrunch . What to read next The US Air Force wants its next generation of target drones to mimic stealth jets Pentagon signs $500 million deal for unmanned counter-drone missile systems promising 'decisive advantage' The US Army is handing out over $4.15 billion to any company able to stop low-cost drone attacks on home soil

The contract was awarded without competing bids, and Sushko said the government determined that for this capability of collecting global data, we were the only company able to provide it in the way that met their needs for these operations. AI forecasting gives balloon measurements additional value WindBorne also incorporates balloon measurements into WeatherMesh 6, its forecasting system, which the company claims performs better than the
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts' traditional approach.

The European Centre relies on atmospheric physics simulations, while machine learning systems derive predictive relationships from historical observations and generate forecasts using learned patterns.

Neither approach eliminates the need for reliable measurements, because forecasting systems depend on atmospheric information to estimate developing conditions and assess possible future changes.

AI forecasting has advanced alongside transformer architectures and access to large historical weather datasets, enabling researchers to develop models without repeatedly solving conventional atmospheric equations.

The company's claimed forecasting advantage remains its own assessment, and independent comparisons are necessary to establish how consistently WeatherMesh 6 outperforms established systems across different weather conditions. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/the-us-air-force-is-spending-millions-on-data-co llected-by-massive-autonomous-weather-balloons


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