Drone Sails into Category 4 Hurricane to Collect Data

Welcome to Thomas Insights — every day, we publish the latest news and analysis to keep our readers up to date on what’s happening in industry. Sign up here to get the day’s top stories delivered straight to your inbox.

Saildrone, Inc., a designer, manufacturer, and operator of uncrewed surface vehicles (USV) reported one of its drones was able to capture footage from inside a Category 4 hurricane. 

The Saildrone Explorer SD 1078 ventured inside Hurricane Fiona, which hit Bermuda as a Category 4 on September 23 and was later downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone. 

The company said its hurricane saildrone captured footage on September 22 at 14:11 UTC. During its time in the hurricane, SD 1078 battled waves that measured 50 feet and winds of over 100 miles per hour. It also sailed at nine miles per hour and reached a maximum speed of 39.7 miles per hour when moving down a wave. Three other saildrones took paths into Hurricane Fiona before SD 1078. 

The first, SD…