Aircraft Operations Center

File:Outside NOAA AOC Hangar 5 MacDill AFB Tampa Florida.jpg

Hangar 5, home of the AOC

The Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) is the main base for the approximately 15 aircraft of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government.

It is the home base of the NOAA Hurricane Hunters.

The base is located on MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. The NOAA Aircraft Operations Center houses multiple light aircraft, and three Hurricane Hunters aircraft. This base plays a large role in every hurricane season, flying into and around hurricanes for research and forecasting.

AOC aircraft

Two WP-3D Orion - heavily instrumented turboprops used for hurricane hunting
One Gulfstream IV-SP (G-IV) - twin turbofan jet aircraft for high-altitude hurricane research
Four DeHavilland Twin Otter (DHC-6)
One Beechcraft King Air
One Rockwell Shrike (AC-500S)
One Rockwell Jetprop