The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is exercising a $106 million contract option with Gulfstream Aerospace to purchase a preowned G550 modified by the OEM to support hurricane and tropical storm forecasts, atmospheric research, and other missions. Partially funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the fully instrumented twinjet is expected to join NOAA's fleet in 2028.
This will be NOAA’s second G550. The first was ordered from Gulfstream in 2019 and will replace the agency’s aging GIV-SP when delivered in the second quarter of next year. That GIV-SP has been part of NOAA’s hurricane hunter fleet since 1996. Both G550s will be fitted with a variety of sensors for collecting atmospheric data, including a tail-mounted Doppler radar system.
“These new aircraft will greatly enhance NOAA’s ability to gather data critical to hurricane research and forecasting, atmospheric river research and forecasting, climate studies, and other missions,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad.
The G550’s 51,000-foot service ceiling will allow the aircraft to paint a detailed picture of atmospheric conditions above and around hurricanes and tropical cyclones so NOAA can issue accurate forecasts. Data collected by the G550s will supplement low-altitude data collected by NOAA’s Lockheed WP-3D Orions, which fly directly into storms.
According to the agency, the G550s will be based at the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center in Lakeland, Florida, alongside its other data-gathering aircraft.