Record Drone Drops Into Hurricane Melissa’s Fury

Hurricane Melissa did not hold back. The Category 5 beast tore across the Caribbean and tied the record for the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane when it slammed western Jamaica on Oct. 28. NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters had a front row seat in the sky, and this time they brought a new passenger: the Black Swift S0 drone.

As FOX Weather reported, the drone was launched from the NOAA WP 3D Hurricane Hunter Aircraft known as Kermit. Then the tiny uncrewed aircraft system was dropped into the storm’s lower boundary layer. The drone flew for 119 minutes at extremely low altitude and set a new record in the process.

At one point, it cruised just 30 feet above the Atlantic Ocean while the hurricane was tearing forward. That alone feels like something out of an action movie.

Footage from the mission showed Melissa’s strength back when it was still only a tropical storm. The ocean surface looked like it was boiling. The drone shook and twisted as winds hammered it from all sides, but it held its flight path and kept feeding live data back to NOAA. The aircraft proved exactly why it was created.

NOAA needed a low cost, air deployed drone that could handle pressure sensors, temperature sensors, humidity tools, 3D wind measurements, sea surface temperature readings, and height measurements only a few dozen feet above the water. They wanted something rugged enough to enter the lowest and most dangerous part of a hurricane. That requirement is what guided the design of the S0.

How the Tiny S0 Survived the Giant Melissa

At only 2.75 pounds with a 54.6 inch wingspan, the S0 does not look like it belongs inside a Category 5 storm.

Yet this small aircraft is built for punishment. It functions as a glider, carries a long range communications system, and includes an atmospheric probe that tracks pressure, temperature, and humidity. It also has sensors for wave height and sea surface temperature.

Black Swift Technologies later released an animated version of the drone’s wild ride through the storm. Every moment shows the craft twisting in the wind and bouncing over violent air currents. The fact it stayed airborne for nearly two hours is remarkable. Low altitude flight inside a hurricane is chaotic, dangerous, and usually impossible for traditional tools. The S0 broke through that barrier.

One reason NOAA selected the S0 was cost. Black Swift engineers reduced complexity and weight while still increasing endurance. This allowed the drone to achieve an order of magnitude drop in price while keeping performance high and data quality strong. That same low cost platform caught the attention of the United States Air Force.

The Air Force needed a tactical weather drone for more accurate cargo drops and for localized forecasts. The mission profile was different. NOAA wanted tube launch capability. The Air Force wanted vertical takeoff and landing. Black Swift realized the S0 design could be adapted with minor changes. The result became the S0 VTOL.

The S0 VTOL can take off vertically, land in tight spaces, and carry sensors for thermodynamic studies, trace gas monitoring, or even small EO and IR cameras. It can climb to 15,000 feet, run missions on its own, and operate in harsh weather. Custom wind estimation algorithms allow it to capture 3D wind profiles fast. With automated sampling patterns and mission scripting, it can handle true launch and forget flights.

Why This Data Really Matters

The S0’s primary mission inside Melissa was simple. Go exactly where researchers have the least information. That area is the thin zone between the sea surface and the atmosphere. Hurricanes pull their energy from this hot layer. It is where storms grow stronger or begin to collapse.

Most aircraft cannot fly that low during a hurricane. Waves reach into the sky. Winds shred anything without the right engineering. That is why the S0’s record matters so much. It survived in a place where almost nothing else can. And it returned with real time data that will make future forecasts better.

Wind speed, pressure, humidity, temperature, and sea surface readings all help NOAA build more accurate forecasts. Better forecasts lead to better warnings. Better warnings protect shipping lanes, island communities, and coastal cities in the United States.

Hurricane Melissa reminded everyone how fast a storm can intensify. Drones like the S0 may become one of the best tools for tracking those dangerous changes before they surprise forecasters.

DroneXL’s Take

Drones like the Black Swift S0 show just how far the industry has come. A craft smaller than many DJI flyers dropped into one of the strongest hurricanes on record and survived long enough to rewrite the playbook. It collected the kind of low altitude data that forecasters have needed for decades. If this is the future of weather drones, storms are about to lose one of their biggest advantages: the unknown.

Photo credit: Black Swift