WindBorne Systems secures up to $49 million U.S. Air Force contract

WindBorne Systems has secured a contract with the U.S. Air Force to provide atmospheric data collected by its fleet of approximately 700 autonomous weather balloons. The agreement is valued at up to $49 million, though it operates on a call-off model where the Air Force pays only for the data it requires for specific regions and times.

As of the report, the Air Force has already placed $1.7 million in orders. The contract, which was awarded without competitive bidding, is intended to support the expansion of the balloon constellation and fund research and development for hardware and performance improvements.

WindBorne, based in Redwood City, California, utilizes empirical sensor data to feed its proprietary AI-driven weather forecasting model, WeatherMesh 6. The company aims to provide more accurate forecasts than traditional physics-based models by integrating real-time atmospheric readings directly into deep-learning systems.