This is the incredible footage of a hurricane hitting the middle of the ocean filmed by an uncrewed surface vehicle (USV).

The Saildrone Explorer SD 1045 filmed the awesome power of the category-four Hurricane Sam as it passed across the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, 30th September.

At the time of reporting, the USV was withstanding being tossed around by winds exceeding speeds of 120mph and 50-foot-tall waves.

Its special design that includes a “hurricane wing” is allowing it to carry out its functions despite the extreme weather conditions it is experiencing out on the open Atlantic.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hopes the observations collected by the USV will provide new knowledge into how tropical cyclones develop.

The US Commerce Department agency hopes these new insights will help to improve storm forecasting and, in turn, reduce loss of life.

According to the NOAA, the SD 1045 is just one of five USVs that are deployed in the Atlantic Ocean gathering data on hurricanes.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November, with September the most active month.

Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO of Saildrone, said: “Saildrone is going where no research vessel has ever ventured, sailing right into the eye of the hurricane, gathering data that will transform our understanding of these powerful storms.”

The USVs feed their data straight to the NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Jenkins said: “We are proud to have engineered a vehicle capable of operating in the most extreme weather conditions on earth.”