Modern and prospective technologies for weather modification activities: A first demonstration of integrating autonomous uncrewed aircraft systems

Abstract

We successfully implemented a framework involving an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) with atmospheric and cloud microphysical sensing and autonomous adaptive control technologies to search, identify, carry out, monitor and/or evaluate cloud seeding operations to enhance precipitation. This first-time implementation featured trials in the U.S. Great Plains area following the US aviation authority regulations during a three-week summer trial period. The trials provide insight into using UAS in an operational setting. Their broader significance is a step toward improved targeting efficiency, and hence improved operational cloud seeding activity effectiveness. The implementation of the integrated UAS provide and exploit the temporal and spatial cloud-scale sensitivities information to overcome the operational and natural uncertainties or sparseness of environmental parameters needed to increase cloud seeding operational efficiency.