Waltham, MA – QinetiQ North America (QNA) today announced that it has recently received a $3M contract from the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) for its Wind Profiling Portable Radar (WiPPR ®) tech nology. WiPPR provides near real- time precision wind measurements which will enable C -130 and C -17 aircrews to airdrop critical supplies more accurately and quickly to U.S. ground forces in austere locations.
Under the contract, QNA will design and build a prototype airborne WiPPR unit that will be tested to demonstrate accurate wind measurement in near real-time. Airborne WiPPR is based on QNA’s commercially available ground based WiPPR Wind-Profiling Portable Radar technology. WiPPR systems are available for research, weather, and commercial wind markets worldwide.
“Airborne WiPPR will provide the airdrop aircraft an organic capability to characterize the air mass and execute a “single- pass” precision resupply of troops in contact,” said Bob Polutchko, Vice President of QNA’s Emerging Markets. “This capability will reduce the exposure of aircraft and aircrews to enemy countermeasures.”
QNA has a long history of providing operational systems to the US military that provide local
meteorological data in support of critical operations including airdrop. WiPPR is the next step in this operational capability.