NOAA's operational end game for the Coyote Unmanned Aircraft System

Since 2009, NOAA has shown an interest in using the air-deployed Coyote Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) for low-altitude hurricane reconnaissance.  In September of 2014, NOAA conducted two successful missions into Hurricane Edouard using this innovative observing tool.  Since then, NOAA has continued to invest time and resources into the Coyote platform.  These efforts include plans to release up to 7 additional Coyote UAS into tropical cyclones using NOAA’s P-3 Hurricane Hunter manned aircraft in 2016.  A longer-term goal for this multi-institutional partnership will be to modify the existing UAS design such that the next generation platform will be capable of conducting routine observations in direct support of a wide array of NOAA operations that extend beyond hurricane surveillance.  The vision for this potentially transformative platform, dubbed the Coyote UASonde, will be to heavily leverage NOAA’s existing capabilities, incorporate significant upgrades to the existing payload and employ an expert navigation and data communication system that utilizes artificial intelligence.  A brief summary of Coyote successes to date as well as a future roadmap that leads NOAA towards an operationally-viable Coyote UASonde will be presented.