- The US Air Force has signed a contract to buy atmospheric data collected by WindBorne Systems' weather balloons. The balloons drift while adjusting their altitude to measure atmospheric conditions. The source gives the maximum contract value as $49 million.
- The contract works on an order-as-needed basis. The Air Force can place orders by region and time, and so far the amount ordered is $1.7 million. The source says more orders are expected.
- The company keeps about 700 balloons aloft around the world, sells the data to customers, and feeds it into its own weather forecasting model WeatherMesh 6. The claim that this model is more accurate than the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model is the company's own explanation.
- Co-founder and CTO Andrey Sushko said the contract was signed without competitive bidding. He explained that the government determined the company was the only one that met its requirements for this kind of global data collection.
What stands out is that the amount actually ordered so far, $1.7 million, is closer to the real scale than the maximum figure of $49 million. Since orders are placed by region and timing as needed, how long the budget will continue depends on Air Force demand. Because the contract was awarded without competition, it is hard to tell from the source alone whether other vendors could enter later.