Weather Doctrine

The Pentagon recently released a document that "sets forth the joint doctrine for the planning and execution of meteorological and oceanographic operations in support of joint operations throughout the range of military operations."

The joint doctrine document released this week "updates space weather information and its impacts on operations."

Inside the Air Force reported earlier this month that the service had awarded Northrop Grumman additional funds to facilitate an adjusted launch schedule for the last two remaining satellites in the service's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. Specifically:

The service issued the contract modification on Nov. 16, providing an extra $36 million to the company to prepare the sensors on the last remaining satellites, DMSP-19 and DMSP-20. According to Gilbert Chan, Northrop's lead on DMSP, the company's original contract specified a 2010 time frame for both satellites -- a schedule that has since been moved to January 2014 for DMSP-19 and October 2014 for DMSP-20.

Chan said he's been given direction from the Air Force that the DMSP-20 launch will be moved to the latter part of the decade -- no earlier than 2016. However, the company's contract does not yet reflect that change. The funds provided through this modification will be used to recalibrate crucial sensors on both satellites.

"The majority of the work is that we are re-accepting the sensors and making sure that they are acceptable for launch in the 2014 time frame," Chan told Inside the Air Force during a Nov. 30 interview. "And in addition, the infrastructure that is required to provide the re-delivery of the sensor is what is also getting extended into the end of 2014."

The Air Force is early in the process of acquiring a new space-based weather capability, the Weather Satellite Follow-on (WSF), to replace the legacy DMSP, which launched its first satellite in 1962. A past effort to replace the system, the Defense Weather Satellite System, was canceled in 2011.

These last two DMSP satellites -- which were built in the 1990s with six-year design lives and have spent close to 20 years in storage -- will be utilized until WSF is operational.

Other updates from the September 2008 version of the joint doctrine document include:

* Eliminates information on weather observations taken by Army intelligence personnel as a nontraditional source of meteorological and oceanographic (METOC) data.

* Updates nontraditional sources of METOC data for the Army to include further information on tactical weather data.

* Updates nontraditional sources of METOC data for the Navy to include subsurface METOC data and astronomy, geophysics, and precise time.

* Updates Figure III-1, Meteorological and Oceanographic Operations Support Community.

* Establishes a senior meteorological (SMO) and joint meteorological and oceanographic officer planning checklist.

* Updates information on Marine Corps METOC forces.

* Updates information on special operations component METOC forces.

* Clarifies SMO designation in multinational operations.

* Clarifies SMO designation and relationship between the National Weather Service and Department of Homeland Security as it relates to interagency operations within the United States.

* Establishes a new vignette on METOC during Operation TOMODACHI.

* Establishes a new vignette on METOC in riverine operations.

* Replaces the term "Marine air traffic control squadron" with "Marine air control squadron."

* Replaces the term "civil support" with "defense support of civil authorities."