Project Gondul

The Value of Enhanced Weather Intelligence for NATO Class 1 UAV Capability in Military Arctic Land Operations

The Science Gondul project is a three-year initiative where forecasts from the Meteomatics weather model EURO1k are used alongside existing weather reports from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute for risk-reducing experiments with the Norwegian Army. The risks to be managed are:

• Disruption of flights due to icing conditions for military NATO Class 1 UAV systems.
• Planning and prioritization for general UAV capacity in Norwegian land operations with respect to cloud cover and cloud height.

The project aims to conduct scientific research by collecting data and analyzing it from the following perspectives:

• Will the Euro1K model add value to Norwegian military land operations by reducing risks in UAV operations?
• How does the Euro1K model reduce risk, and on what scale?
• How can the Norwegian Army integrate the Euro1K model's weather information into current operational procedures (IPOE / TDMP) and at what level for optimal effect?

Gondul will focus on two different weather phenomena that affect the effectiveness of UAVs as sensors in land operations:

• Snowfall.
• Icing conditions for flights.

Gondul will explore the relevance of weather forecasts in current operational procedures for tactical decision-making in the Norwegian Army. Based on the new technology available through Euro1K forecasts, Project Gondul will leverage opportunities for innovation in the tactical decision-making process and, if relevant, propose data-driven and scientifically based changes to it.