The Aircraft Operations Center is the main base for the approximately 15 aircraft of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...

 of the United States government.

It is the home base of the NOAA Hurricane Hunters

NOAA Hurricane Hunters

The NOAA Hurricane Hunters work under the Aircraft Operations Center , located on MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. The Aircraft Operations Center is under the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations , which is a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . NOAA is part...

.

The base is located on MacDill Air Force Base

MacDill Air Force Base

MacDill Air Force Base is an active United States Air Force base located approximately south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida...

 in Tampa

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. The NOAA Aircraft Operations Center houses multiple light aircraft, and three Hurricane Hunters

Hurricane Hunters

The Hurricane Hunters are aircraft that fly into tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic Ocean and Northeastern Pacific Ocean for the specific purpose of directly measuring weather data in and around those storms. In the United States, the Air Force, Navy, and NOAA units have all participated in...

 aircraft. This base plays a large role in every hurricane season, flying into and around hurricanes for research and forecasting.

AOC aircraft

• WP-3D Orion
  WP-3D Orion
  |-See also:- External links:* *...
  
   - heavily instrumented turboprops used for hurricane hunting
• Gulfstream IV-SP (G-IV) - twin turbofan jet aircraft for high-altitude hurricane research
• Cessna Citation II (CE-550)
• DeHavilland Twin Otter (DHC-6)
• Gulfstream Turbo Commander (AC-690)
• Rockwell Aero Commander (AC-500S)
• Lake Aircraft Renegade Seawolf
  Lake Renegade
  -External links:...
  
  (LA-27)