Developed by BORÉAL SAS, the Boréal unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a fixed-wing platform, weighing less than 25kg and capable of traveling 700 km with a payload of 5 kg. The Boreal has a wingspan of 4.20 meters and has a nominal cruise speed of 100 km h^-1 (with a range between 60-130km h^-1). The BOREAL is particularly well-suited for probing the marine boundary layer between 40 and 3000 m.asl. The BOREAL system has been used successfully by the Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques (CNRM) of Metéo-France during the MIRIAD and RENOVRISK campaigns in the Indian Ocean. The Boréal UAV will make one six-hour flight per flight day coordinating with the other research aircraft (HALO, ATR-42 and the Twin Otter).

The Boréal UAV is launched from a catapult (see picture) and lands on its belly allowing for relatively short take-off and landing operations in the field. It is equipped with a transponder (24-bit S-mode) for integrating flights into international airspace, a radio frequency / satellite communication system for long distance flight. The payload of 5 kg includes sensors to measure air-sea exchanges: multi-hole 3D wind and turbulence probe, particle counter and number size distribution, altimetry radar (wave height), temperature of sea surface, downwelling broadband solar radiation, pressure / temperature / humidity and real-time video. Data from these sensors are available in real-time on the ground station.