A bipartisan group of senators are trying to triple the size of the Hurricane Hunter fleet – the three hulking and aging aircraft used to fly directly into hurricanes and tropical storm systems to measure their intensity.
A bipartisan Senate bill to be introduced on Wednesday would give the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration $2.5 billion for buying new aircraft, as well as an additional $45 million per year to hire more highly specialized pilots to fly them.
The bill, shared first with CNN, would codify NOAA’s aircraft reconnaissance and research role into law, which could help prevent those responsibilities from being transferred to another agency, like the US Air Force. A small agency, NOAA can be more vulnerable in Washington’s bureaucratic tussles.
More frequent and intense weather extremes are forcing agencies like NOAA to increase their tempo of operations using outdated equipment. If the Hurricane Hunter research fleet is not significantly bolstered soon, lawmakers and scientists fear that forecast accuracy will suffer.
Currently, NOAA flies two aging WP-3D Orion turboprop hurricane research planes, nicknamed “Kermit” and “Miss Piggy,” that will reach the end of their service life in 2030, as well as one heavily modified Gulfstream jet named “Gonzo.”
