Nevada's Desert and Research Institute successfully flew an unmanned cloud-seeding aircraft from Hawthorne Industrial Airport under the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site designated by the Federal Aviation Administration. They were able to fly for 18 minutes, an 11-foot-wingspan aircraft, which proved it can deploy flares to induce extra rainfall from the clouds.
For the first time in history, a fixed-wing unmanned aircraft tested a cloud-seeding payload in an experimental flight. The Drone America Savant named "Sandoval State Seeder," in honor of Governor Brian Sandoval who was dedicated to Nevada's UAS industry, reached 400 feet high on April 29 and planted two silver-iodide flares, the DRI reported.
Nevada's DRI has been studying how to use unmanned aerial vehicles to address the state's natural disasters, such as droughts through weather modification. The first flight of the drone was not perfect though, as there are still doubts whether cloud seeding effectively works, Engadget has learned. Furthermore, the Seeder was only limited to 400 feet altitude during the test run.
The project lead scientist called it a feat for the state and for everyone involved. Project Chief Engineer Amber Broch optimistically described the flight as a "tremendous potential to use unmanned systems as tools for environmental science and innovative natural resource applications." The research team will conduct an actual cloud seeding test in the Lake Tahoe basin as its next step.
The concept of unmanned vehicles trying to control the weather may be a bit close to the fictional artificial general intelligence, Skynet, the main antagonist of the "Terminator" film. However, cloud seeding has been previously used for purposes that were not harmful or damaging, such as to clear the air before important events.
The DRI project is supported by the Office of Economic Development of the Nevada governor via the Knowledge Fund. It is the first-of-its-kind to help the state explore solutions to natural challenges. Its research team has over 30 years of weather modification research, Drone America Reno's expertise with a proven experience in aerospace manufacturing and Avisight Las Vegas' industry leading unmanned aerial data services.
Here is the video of the DRI's unmanned cloud seeding aircraft test flight on April 29.