Why it matters
Why turbulence still catches crews by surprise
For more than a decade, atmospheric scientists have warned that climate change could intensify clear-air turbulence by altering jet-stream dynamics and increasing wind shear at cruising altitudes. Yet today, pilots still often rely on forecasts, pilot reports, and indirect indicators that cannot always capture fast-evolving turbulence with the precision required in real time. Clear-air turbulence remains especially difficult because it is invisible to conventional onboard weather radar, striking without warning in clear blue sky – by the time it is felt, the aircraft is already inside it. It costs the aviation industry an estimated $0.5–2.6B a year, with 65,000 moderate-or-greater encounters reported by pilots annually in the US alone.
The technology
Radar can't see it. Our laser does.
An onboard optical sensor continuously probes the atmosphere ahead of the aircraft, resolving turbulence invisible to weather radar in real time. That gives pilots time to alert the cabin, secure the crew, prepare passengers, and select the optimal turbulence-penetration speed, significantly reducing the risk of injuries, operational disruption, and costly aircraft inspections or repairs.
The same short-range scanning maps turbulence precisely, not just a hazard somewhere ahead. An airport-based ground variant extends the same protection to aircraft not yet equipped, warning them during the critical landing and take-off phases.
Transferring space technology to aviation now rebuilt around an eye-safe ultraviolet pulsed laser for the flight deck.
Safer flights. Better-prepared crews. Lower operational risk.