Military Pushes End of Weather Data Sharing to Autumn 2026

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After backlash against its decision to end sharing of weather data with civilians as of 31 July 2025, the Navy announced it will push back the end of its data sharing to September 2026 or failure of satellite sensors, whichever comes first.

Weather data from Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellites is used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and in turn with other civilian weather tracking and forecasting entities. Although NOAA has other weather data sources, DMSP is especially crucial during hurricane season.

DMSP is supposed to be superseded by Weather System Follow-On Microwave (WSF-M) satellites which offer more detailed information and can be used to assess snow depth and sea ice. DMSP is many years past its planned service life, but the transition to WSF-M is not yet complete.

Terminating the DMSP data sharing program has been widely regarded as a step on the Project 2025 path to privatizing weather forecasting services.

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