Aircraft
NOAA Places Order for Second Gulfstream G550
Jets will be outfitted with a bevy of atmospheric sensors
NOAA special-mission equipped Gulfstream G550
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has placed an order for a second Gulfstream G550 for atmospheric research and hurricane surveillance. © Gulfstream Aerospace

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is exercising a $106 million contract option with Gulfstream Aerospace to purchase a preowned G550 modified by the OEM to support hurricane and tropical storm forecasts, atmospheric research, and other missions. Partially funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the fully instrumented twinjet is expected to join NOAA's fleet in 2028.

This will be NOAA’s second G550. The first was ordered from Gulfstream in 2019 and will replace the agency’s aging GIV-SP when delivered in the second quarter of next year. That GIV-SP has been part of NOAA’s hurricane hunter fleet since 1996. Both G550s will be fitted with a variety of sensors for collecting atmospheric data, including a tail-mounted Doppler radar system.