Publisher's Synopsis
Air Force Weather (AFW), and its Navy equivalent, the Commander Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (CNMOC), are tasked with characterizing the current and future state of the environment in all warfighting domains. In order to do this, they employ a wide range of in situ and remotely-sensed observations of the atmosphere, space environment, and land and ocean surfaces. Weather satellites of several types operated by the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Commerce (DOC), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and several foreign governments are a key platform for collection of remotely-sensed environmental data. AFW and CNMOC consume a wide range of observational data types from this extensive array of weather satellites. Several factors occurring now and in the near future will change the manner in which the DoD meteorology and oceanography (METOC) community consumes environmental satellite data, though. These factors should prompt DoD to update its environmental satellite data requirements.
