WEATHER SERVICE

Abstract

This budget activity funds operational development necessary to acquire, sustain, and enhance segments of the Air Force Weather Weapon System (AFWWS). Activities also include studies and analysis to support both current program planning and execution and future program planning. The AFWWS provides timely, accurate, consistent and relevant space and terrestrial weather information for global battlespace situational awareness. The AFWWS supports worldwide operations of Air Force and Army warfighters, Special Operation Forces (SOF), and other government agencies with weather observing and forecasting capabilities at in-garrison and deployed locations as well as centralized, reach-back capabilities. Air Force Weather (AFW) programs align under the five capability areas of Weather Data Collection (WDC), Weather Data Analysis (WDA), Weather Forecasting, Product Tailoring/Warfighter Applications (PT/WA), and Weather Dissemination (presently relies on Commercial-off-the-Shelf products and so does not use RDT&E funding). Through this alignment, AFW ensures an integrated and systems-oriented approach to program management decisions. WDC provides automated terrestrial and space environmental sensing capabilities at fixed and deployed locations worldwide. WDA provides a net-centric infrastructure that assimilates worldwide sources of terrestrial and space weather data and produces decision-quality information for warfighters. Weather Forecasting provides advanced scientific numerical weather prediction capabilities for automated, high resolution forecast products for mission planning, rehearsal, and execution. Additionally, WDA and Forecasting capabilities will be expanded to integrate and exploit data from a new generation of environmental sensing satellites. PT/WA provides timely, local and regional target-scale weather information to operational commanders for a given Area of Responsibility, and at tactical levels, provides front-line weather information to warfighters in support of combat operations. PT/WA supports the 'train as you fight' concept by assuring fixed and deployable systems have a similar look and feel. In February 2009 the Land Information System (LIS) achieved Initial Operational Capability, beginning replacement of 20+ year old legacy systems. LIS software unifies surface characterizations from multiple sources and provides consistent, high resolution soil profile, moisture, and temperature information needed to support, for example, Army tactical decisions aids and initialization of weather forecast models. In August 2009 implementation of the Joint Meteorology and Oceanography (METOC) Space Environment and Solar Segment (JMSESS) database replaced legacy databases and marked an initial step toward net-centric capabilities for space environmental monitoring and command and control operators vital to space situational awareness. Fielding of the Joint Environmental Toolkit (JET), Increment 1, by the Electronic Systems Center continued during FY 2009 with more than 140 sites installed by the end of September. JET is enhancing the availability of weather information for use in Wings, Squadrons, and Air and Space Operations Centers, integration with Army decision processes, and exploitation of weather at global, regional, and tactical levels. This effort is in Budget Activity 7, Operational System Development, because it supports operational software development and system tests associated with the upgrade and replacement of currently operational systems, systems already in production, and systems with approved production funds in the DoD budget.

Document Details

• Document Type: R2 Budgetary Justification
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2011
• Source ID: 0305111F_7_3600_PB_2011
• Change Summary Explanation: In FY11: funding decreases from FY09 due to higher Air Force priorities.
• Service Agency Name: Air Force

Entities

Organizations

• United States Air Force

Tags

Communities of Interest

• C4I
• Human Systems
• Materials and Manufacturing Processes
• Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

• Air Force
• Artificial Satellites
• Combat Operations
• Command And Control
• Cost Analysis
• Costs
• Data Analysis
• Delphi Method
• High Resolution
• Meteorological Radar
• Program Management
• Situational Awareness
• Software Development
• Space Environments
• Space Situational Awareness
• Space Weather
• Weather Forecasting

Fields of Study

• Environmental science

Readers

• Aerospace Engineering.
• Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
• Enterprise Information Systems Architecture and Joint Command Capability Interoperability Support.

Technology Areas

• Fully Networked C3
• Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control
• Microelectronics
• Space
• Space - Satellites