RAAVEN

The RAAVEN has been instrumental in collecting atmospheric measurements in the lower atmosphere in various environments. The RAAVEN has logged hundreds of flight hours supporting major field campaigns including TORUS 2019-2022 (NSF), ATOMIC 2020 (NOAA), MOSAIC 2020 (NSF), TRACER 2022 (DOE), TORUS-LItE 2023 (NSF), and ICECHIP 2025 (NSF). The RAAVEN has also been used to provide datasets in support of weather forecasting and monitoring.

The standard RAAVEN UAS is equipped with two Vaisala RSS 421 to collect temperature, pressure and relative humidity (thermodynamic variables) and a custom multi-hole probe to derive three-dimensional winds. The RAAVEN uses the Cube Orange+ flight controller with an inertial navigation system that provides aircraft position and orientation. Additional instrumentation includes a fine-wire array for high-resolution measurements of fluctuations in airspeed and static temperature, two Melexis infrared thermometers for energy-flux measurements, and the Portable Optical Particle Spectrometer (POPS), developed in the NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, that reports particle size and number concentrations of aerosols. The RAAVEN airframe is customizable with the potential to integrate a range of additional payloads within size, weight, and power constraints.

RAAVEN Specifications


Platform Specifications

Type Fixed-Wing
Wingspan size Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý2.3 meters
Base Configuration Weight Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý14.3 lbs
Speed Range Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý17 m/s cruise; 20 m/s (dash)
Build Materials Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý ÌýEPP foam, Coroplast, carbon fiber


Operating Conditions*

Max sustained wind speed aloftÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý 40 m/s
Max ground wind (gust or sustained)ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý15 m/s
Flight ceilingÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý5.5 km MSL
Operational altitude range (typical)ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Ìý 30-760 m
Endurance Ìý Ìý Ìý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Up to 2.5 hr


Measurement Specifications

Thermodynamic variables:
Temperature (accuracy, resolution) Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý±0.3 K, ±0.01 K
Relative Humidity (accuracy, resolution) Ìý±3%, 0.1%
Pressure (accuracy, resolution) Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý ±0.2 mbar, ±0.01mbar

Wind (3D):
Speed Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý±0.25 m/s
Direction Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý ±0.5°

Data rate Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý 10 HzÌý

*Flight operations are also contigent on FAA and agency specific policies and regulations.

RAAVEN instrumentation

Standard instrumentation for the RAAVEN

Murc and RAAVEN
Publications regarding the accuracy of RAAVEN measurements:

de Boer, G., B. Butterworth, J. Elston, A. Houston, E. Pillar-Little, B. Argrow, T. Bell, P. Chilson, C. Choate, B. Greene, A. Islam, R. Martz, M. Rhodes, D. Rico, M. Stachura, F. Lappin, S. Whyte, and M. Wilson, 2024: Evaluation and Intercomparison of Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Used for Atmospheric Research, Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 41, 127–145,

And in field campaigns:Ìý

Lappin, F., G. de Boer, P. Klein, J. Hamilton, M. Spencer, R. Calmer, A. Segales, M. Rhodes, T. Bell, J. Buchli, K. Britt, E. Asher, I. Medina, B. Butterworth, L. Otterstatter, M. Ritsch, B. Puxley, A. Miller, A. Jordan, C. Gomez-Faulk, E. Smith, S. Borenstein, T. Thornberry, B. Argrow, and E. Pillar-Little, 2023: Data collected using small uncrewed aircraft system during the TRacking Aerosol Convection Interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER), Earth Sys. Sci. Data, 16, 2525–2541.

de Boer, G., R. Calmer, G. Jozef, J. Cassano, J. Hamilton, D. Lawrence, S. Borenstein, A. Doddi, C. Cox, J. Schmale, A. Preußer, and B. Argrow, 2022: Observing the Central Arctic Atmosphere and Surface with University of Colorado Uncrewed Aircraft Systems, Nature Sci. Data., 9, 439,

Frew, E. W., Argrow, B., Borenstein, S., Swenson, S., Hirst, C. A., Havenga, H., and Houston, A., 2020: Field observation of tornadic supercells by multiple autonomous fixed-wing unmanned aircraft, J. Field Robot., 37, 1077-1093,

Kristen L. Axon, Adam L. Houston, Conrad L. Ziegler, Christopher C. Weiss, Erik N. Rasmussen, Michael C. Coniglio, Brian Argrow, Eric Frew, Sara Swenson, Anthony E. Reinhart, and Matthew B. Wilson, The Potential Roles of Preexisting Airmass Boundaries on a Tornadic Supercell Observed by TORUS on 28 May 2019, Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 152, No. 1, pp. 97–121,

Matthew B. Wilson, Adam L. Houston, Conrad L. Ziegler, Daniel M. Stechman, Brian Argrow, Eric W. Frew, Sara Swenson, Erik Rasmussen, and Michael Coniglio, 2023: Environmental and Storm-Scale Controls on Close Proximity Supercells Observed by TORUS on 8 June 2019, Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 151, No. 12, pp. 3013-3035,

Ìýde Boer, G., S. Borenstein, R. Calmer, C. Cox, M. Rhodes, C. Choate, J. Hamilton, J. Osborn, D. Lawrence, B. Argrow and J. Intrieri (2022): Measurements from the University of Colorado RAAVEN Uncrewed Aircraft System during ATOMIC, Earth System Science Data, Vol. 14, 19–31,