AAI's SYSTEMS management subsidiary (AAI/SMI) has announced new customers for its Next Generation Weather Observing System (NEXWOS), the commercial version of the ASOS automated weather-reporting system in production for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Latvia's air-navigation service has ordered an ASOS II, the export version of the NEXWOS, for installation this year at Riga International Airport. The system will be used to measure wind speed and direction, temperature and dew point, barometric pressure, cloud height and visibility, and will be able to detect lightning. Weather information will be updated once a minute.
An ASOS II has been installed on a rooftop heliport in Bombay, at the headquarters of Indian industrial group Essar. This system broadcasts wind speed and direction over a dedicated VHF ground-to-air radio.
Shell Offshore has purchased a NEXWOS for installation on a new oil platform being built in the Gulf of Mexico. Using a dedicated VHF link, the system will broadcast water temperature and current speed and wave height, in addition to wind speed and direction, air temperature and dew point, barometric pressure, visibility and cloud height.
Source: Flight International
