Meteomatics has unveiled Strato, its next-generation Meteodrone, at Meteorological Technology World Expo 2026 in Amsterdam. The company said Strato is the first multicopter drone capable of atmospheric sounding into the troposphere, reaching an altitude of 10,438m.
According to Meteomatics, Strato extends the on-demand, repeatable vertical profiling capability of the Meteodrone platform, which the company has developed over a decade. Earlier Meteodrones measured up to 6km, whereas Strato is designed to operate up to 12km. The company positions it as a reusable alternative to the radiosonde, a balloon-borne instrument that has been the industry standard for atmospheric sounding for nearly a century.
Meteomatics said Strato is rated for sustained winds of up to 120km/h. It has an aerodynamic body and active wind-mode control that allow it to orient itself into headwinds. It also has a rain-resistant, waterproof design for operation in wet conditions. An integrated active de-icing system automatically heats the propellers when it detects icing conditions. Strato provides real-time telemetry to the operator throughout flight, including altitude, wind, temperature and icing alerts.
“Ten years ago, this was a business case on paper and a vision,” said Dr Martin Fengler, the CEO of Meteomatics. “Today it’s a drone that reaches 10,000m. Strato proves the atmosphere doesn’t stop at 6km – and neither do we. We didn’t just build a taller drone. We built the next stage of a moonshot: replacing the radiosonde, one flight at a time.”
Dr Enrico Ajanic, product owner and senior engineer on the Strato program, added, “It was very important for us to be able to consistently fly to these high altitudes. Weather is not an excuse – we can do it with this drone.”
“The jet stream is basically the highway that every weather system travels on in the northern hemisphere, west to east,” said Johannes Rausch, head of weather prediction at Meteomatics. “If the data isn’t located correctly relative to the jet stream, the forecast won’t be reliable either.”
“When we have more data in the models, it’s a more complete picture of the atmosphere,” said Brad Guay, head of government and defense solutions at Meteomatics. “We fill in those blind spots so we can see better into the future.”
The company said it will publish technical and engineering content in the coming weeks, along with a dedicated product page at meteomatics.com.
Meteomatics is exhibiting at Booth B30.
Meteorological Technology World Expo continues on Wednesday and Thursday, October 7 & 8. Click here to register for your free expo pass
