Airborne Weather Reconnaissance System

The Airborne Weather Reconnaissance System was developed as a replacement for the existing meteorological equipment on Air Weather Service's weather reconnaissance fleet. The preproduction system installed in WC-130B, serial number 62-3492, underwent the test. The basic objective was to evaluate the system's ability to meet mission requirements under operational conditions. This specificially included the use of the system in the tropical storm environment. The test was conducted under a lead-the-fleet concept to allow maximum employment of the system during the test period. The results showed that the system greatly increased Air Weather Service's flexibility in collecting and recording weather reconnaissance data particularly in areas of high interest. Because of improved reliability over current reconnaissance systems, AWRS can be maintained and logistically supported without additional manpower even though it is more complex. Based on the results, the major conclusion is that AWRS, using the AN/AMT-13A vertical profile subsystem, will satisfactorily meet its mission requirements.