Joint weather team aids Cobra Gold aircrews Published May 25, 2004 By Master Sgt. Michael Farris 353rd Special Operations Group Public Affairs UDORN THANI, Thailand (AFPN) -- Multinational, multiservice weather forecasters here put their skills together in predicting curveballs Mother Nature may throw at Cobra Gold 04 participants.Airmen from the 353rd Special Operations Group at Kadena Air Base, Japan, joined forces with U.S. Marine and Thai weather forecasters providing timely and accurate weather pictures for crews aboard MC-130s, F/A-18s, KC-135 Stratotankers and C-12s. With more than 30 U.S. aircraft deployed here, the weather team’s input helps keep the planes safe.There have been challenges, but “overall our forecasts have been about 95-percent accurate,” said Tech. Sgt. Greg Espinosa of the 353rd Operations Support Squadron. Isolated thunderstorms are a daily occurrence as northeast Thailand transitions from its hot season to rainy season. The storms are a moving target, and the weather team monitors them constantly.The joint nature of the weather office here is a welcome change, said Marine Corps Sgt. Ryan Cunningham of the Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 from Iwakuni, Japan.“The Air Force has different equipment and more robust capability,” he said. “Combine that with the local experience of the Thai forecasters and we’ve got a pretty good handle on our forecasts.”On his third consecutive Cobra Gold, Sergeant Espinosa said this year’s weather patterns have varied significantly from 2003. He said the team creates a joint forecast tailored to the customer’s needs. “The MC-130 crews require slightly different information than the F-18s,” he said. “The different altitudes, profiles and duration of their missions have a big impact on what specific information they need. The KC-135s crews call for yet a different set of data.”Chinese weather satellite imagery is also in operation for the first time in Thailand. Air Force officials contracted the satellite receiver and have made great strides in improving its accuracy. “The best resolution on images is 1 kilometer [0.62 miles] by 1 kilometer,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Rudd. “We’ve worked very closely with the (software designer). The system is where we expected it to be.”It uses a high-resolution receiving system. Combined with standard weather radar, the forecasters said they are prepared for the worst.“Our objective isn’t to provide clear (sky) and calm winds,” Sergeant Espinosa said. “Rather it’s to let our crews know where the hazards are.”Cobra Gold is an exercise designed to improve U.S., Thai, Singaporean, Mongolian and Filipino combined readiness and interoperability, enhance security relationships and demonstrate U.S. resolve in the region.