WindBorne wins Air Force contract

WindBorne Systems secured a potential forty-nine million dollar US Air Force agreement to supply atmospheric measurements gathered by autonomous balloons worldwide.

How the balloons navigate

The California startup operates about seven hundred balloons that change altitude to encounter winds carrying them toward particular locations, adjusting buoyancy through air release and sand ballast.

First into a typhoon's eye

Back in August twenty twenty-six, WindBorne became the first company to guide an unpowered flight system into the typhoon's eye, collecting data from the typhoon.

What made the feat possible

Andrey Sushko, co-founder and CTO of WindBorne Systems, said the achievement required good wind and weather models and a large enough constellation with balloons in the right places.

“That's 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.”

Military spending so far

Although the deal carries a maximum value of forty-nine million dollars, actual spending depends on military needs and so far the military has placed orders worth about one point seven million dollars.

Why WindBorne won alone

The contract was awarded without competing bids. Sushko said the government determined WindBorne was the only company able to provide global data collection in the way that met their operational needs.

“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 advantage claimed

WindBorne incorporates balloon measurements into WeatherMesh six, its forecasting system, which the company claims performs better than the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts' traditional approach.