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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nNOAA announced it has ordered two advanced hurricane hunter aircraft that are expected to enter service by 2030. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency said<\/a> it awarded the contract to Georgia-based Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, which will produce the specialized C-130J Hercules aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a budgetary report<\/a>, the total cost of a new plane will be cheaper to operate and maintain than the currently used P-3D Orion aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “NOAA is continuing to make critical investments to help protect lives and property,” NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, said in a statement. “These new aircraft will be filled with state-of-the-art technology developed by NOAA and our partners, greatly enhancing our ability to gather critical data on hurricanes, atmospheric rivers and our changing climate.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new C-130Js are scheduled to replace the aging WP-3D Orions, which have been in service since the mid-1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “As demand for specialized weather data continues to grow, modernizing NOAA\u2019s aircraft fleet is deemed essential for meeting future operational and scientific needs,” the agency stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During Hurricane Helene, a combination of aircraft from NOAA and the United States Air Force flew dozens of missions over the Gulf of Mexico to investigate the hurricane and the surrounding atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The missions led to the cyclone being upgraded to a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale<\/a> before its landfall southeast of Tallahassee.<\/p>\n\n\n \n