The US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will acquire a second Gulfstream G550 configured as a Hurricane Hunter under a $106 million contract with the Savannah-based business jet manufacturer.
The agency said on 15 July “it is exercising a $106 million contract option” with Gulfstream to purchase the aircraft, which it expects to receive in 2028.
The jet will be “specially configured to support hurricane and tropical storm forecasts, atmospheric research and other NOAA missions”, NOAA says.
The agency ordered an initial G550 in 2019. It anticipates receiving that aircraft in spring 2025 and will use it to replace its single Gulfstream IV-SP.
The second G550 will be an addition to NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter fleet, which also includes two four-engined Lockheed WP-3D Orion turboprops. NOAA also operates four De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300s and three Beechcraft King Air 350s, according to Cirium data.
“Data collected by the G550s will supplement the critical low-altitude data collected by NOAA’s pair of four-engine Lockheed WP-3D Orion turboprop aircraft, which fly directly into storms,” NOAA says. “When aircraft data are available, hurricane track and intensity forecasts are improved significantly.”
The G550s will carry specialised equipment including “tail-mounted Doppler radar”, the agency adds. It did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
NOAA bases its Hurricane Hunters at its aircraft operations centre at Lakeland Linder International airport in Florida.
