La NOAA o Ulawulo lweLwandlekazi lweSizwe kunye noLawulo lweAtmospheric, iarhente exhomekeke kurhulumente waseMelika, isandula ukubhengeza isicwangciso sayo sokuphuhlisa iidrones ezithile ezinakho ukungena kwiliso lesaqhwithi ukuze kuqokelelwe ulwazi oluninzi malunga nayo kwaye ke ngaloo ndlela ichonge isimilo sayo. Le nkqubo iye yavavanywa okokuqala ngexesha loku INkanyamba uMateyu ewonakalise ngokoqobo ummandla weCaribbean.
Le nkqubo ayisiyonto intsha ngokupheleleyo, kodwa luphuculo lwangaphambili. Njengoko i-NOAA ngokwayo ibonisa, emva kwi-2014 babesele basebenzise iiprototypes ngexesha leNkanyamba u-Edouard enokuthi iqhutywe ngaphakathi kwe-radius yeekhilomitha ezintlanu. Phakathi kwezinto ezintsha ezikhoyo kule nkqubo intsha, sinokuqaqambisa, umzekelo, ukuba le radius yandisiwe ukuya kwiikhilomitha ezingama-80. Ngokwedatha eqokelelweyo, idrone yangena kwinkanyamba xa yayikwinqanaba lesibini, oko kuthetha ukuba kwakufuneka imelane nemimoya ephantse ibe ziikhilomitha ezili-180 ngeyure.
I-NOAA iya kuphonononga okwenzekayo ngaphakathi kwezaqhwithi ngeedrones ezilungiselelwe ezi ntlobo zemisebenzi.
Ngokubhekisele kwidrone uqobo, kufanele ukuba kuqatshelwe ukuba sithetha ngenkqubo kabani amaphiko yi-1,5 yeemitha. Ngaphandle kwale datha, idrone inokubhabha phantsi kweemeko ezixakekileyo ifumane ulwazi olusemoyeni olufana nobushushu, ukufuma kwendalo, kwanesantya esivuthelwa ngumoya, ulwalathiso lwayo kunye neemeko ezithi zivele kulwandle ngexesha langempela. Ngaphandle kwamathandabuzo itekhnoloji ephucukileyo eyenza, ngokwe-NOAA ukuba iyunithi nganye yale drone inexabiso IRandi ye22.000.
Le drone isetyenziselwa ukuphanda indlela iinkanyamba ezabhaptizwa ngayo njenge-NOAA, sisixhobo esinobunzima obungaphantsi kweekhilogram ezintandathu. Ngombulelo kolu lwakhiwo kunye nolwakhiwo lwayo oluyingqayizivele, inokubhabha ngaphezulu kwenkanyamba ukusondela kwiziko layo apho iya kuqala khona ukuqokelela zonke iintlobo zolwazi. Yonke idatha eqokelelweyo ithunyelwa ukuba iqhubekiswe kwiZiko leNkanyamba leLizwe.