UAS Colorado

A California startup says its drones added an estimated 19 million gallons of rain and snow over Alaska. On 23 August 2026, El Segundo-based Rainmaker Technology Corporation flew seeding missions over the Kenai Peninsula. Two autonomous drones released 19 silver iodide flares into subfreezing, moisture-rich clouds over about three hours. Using radar methods adapted from earlier research campaigns, the company estimated a mean of about 57 acre-feet of precipitation above background, roughly 19 million gallons. That figure is a modeled estimate, not a reading from a giant rain gauge. Rainmaker presents the test as a step toward later work on depleted basins such as the Colorado River. The flights were not widely announced in advance. Alaska State Representative Sarah Vance called for a halt and said the state had not been notified. Supporters treat drone seeding as a tool against drought. Critics question private weather modification without public consent and independent review. Cloud seeding is an old technique. What is new here is the claim that drones can target clouds and that radar can isolate a few tens of acre-feet of extra water in a few hours. Whether that scales, and who should license it, is the argument now underway.

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