SBIR Spotlight

Use Cases on applying our Advanced Technologies to DoD challenges

During this Phase I effort for the U.S. Air Force , EarthCast conducted a thorough feasibility study to determine the effectiveness of utilizing already operational ECT solutions for terrestrial weather forecasting. ECT performed numerous interviews with potential stakeholders within the Air Force (AF) and Department of Defense (DoD) to determine if readily available commercial products can help to provide critical weather information and forecasts for military operations where we found significant interest and enthusiasm among all stakeholders. Each of the seven (7) stakeholders ECT identified within the AF and DoD during this study agreed that the GEWIS technology could provide a potential solution for helping them meet environmental requirements, and all agreed to engage with EarthCast in a potential Phase II SBIR effort to develop an operational GEWIS prototype to meet their specific needs. These stakeholders included enterprise weather, special operations, hypersonics, modeling/simulation/training, and long-range climate applications. EarthCast Technologies was awarded a Phase II effort to tailor GEWIS to help support Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Hypersonic Testing (see below) and Air National Guard MQ-9 training with improved environmental information.

For this Phase I effort, ECT conducted analysis of non-traditional weather data sources to determine the efficacy, technical feasibility, and cost effectiveness of utilizing those sources for high-resolution rapid refresh nowcasting to support U.S. Air Force (USAF), U.S. Space Force (USSF) and Department of Defense (DoD) operators, as well as decision makers focused on battlespace management in time-sensitive operations and/or domains. Specifically, this effort focused on the objective of developing high-resolution rapid refresh weather forecasts (nowcasts) in support of real-time battle management (remote piloted aircraft, dynamic tasking, etc.) in data-sparse locations. ECT analyzed specific high-value DoD HRRR use cases to create and evaluate a potentially operational prototype forecast system for improved assimilation and prediction using traditional and simulated non-traditional space-based environmental monitoring data from Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) Space-Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS), and other existing non-traditional ECT commercial data sources. This work was focused on tactical-scale weather systems distributed in the battlespace for future integration into USAF, USSF, DoD, U.S. Intelligence Community, etc., as well as commercial systems to improve accuracy and mission effectiveness.

For this Phase II effort in support of AFRL, EarthCast tailored its commercial weather solution to provide real-time, rapid-update, high-resolution, global-to-hyperlocal customized environmental information to support planning and operations for hypersonic test flights and test range operations, as well as support for Air National Guard MQ-9 operations.  Such aircraft spend a portion of their flight time in the stratosphere. Since most traditional weather sources end in the troposphere, EarthCast answered the call for advanced observational and prediction environmental data for the stratosphere and above. EarthCast tailored its commercial weather solution to provide real-time, rapid-update, high-resolution, global-to-hyperlocal customized environmental information to support planning and operations for hypersonic research, development, and test flights (including hypersonic route planning tools).

By leveraging the core capabilities in GEWIS and expanding our innovation into the hypersonic frontier, our Space & Terrestrial Environmental Prediction System (STEPS) now leads the next generation of advanced environmental intelligence products and has a unique foothold to support new missions and systems in need for observing, forecasting, and predicting environmental conditions for aerospace. We are ready for future partnerships to advance additional SBIR’s and commercializing services in this space.

Through an SBIR research projects for the Army, EarthCast has demonstrated feasibility and applied prototypes for customized, near real-time rapid-update weather and environmental information for the Army for Tactical – Environmental Situational Awareness (TAK-ESA).  There are several opportunities pending and available to advance TAK-ESA for environmental information in the cockpit for EarthCast’s advanced technologies.

By leveraging the core capabilities in GEWIS and expanding our innovation into Environmental Situational Awareness displays, EarthCast can support new missions and systems in need for observing, forecasting, and predicting environmental conditions for tactical advantage. We are ready for future partnerships to advance additional SBIR’s and commercializing services in this space.

EarthCast researches with commercial entities, universities, research labs, DoD, and the national weather agencies to enhance product development while leveraging emerging technology resources and data processing methods to customize commercialize operational products into new and evolved environmental intelligence solutions for decision making.