Military

Ventus: The world-first hand-held 3D wind-mapping rangefinder

Ventus: The world-first hand-held 3D wind-mapping rangefinder
Trijicon's Ventus is the world's first hand-held wind mapper and rangefinder
Trijicon's Ventus is the world's first hand-held wind mapper and rangefinder
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By reading the doppler shift in the wavelength of laser energy reflected by particulate matter in the air, the Ventus can give you a three-dimensional reading on what the wind is up to at six points between you and a target
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By reading the doppler shift in the wavelength of laser energy reflected by particulate matter in the air, the Ventus can give you a three-dimensional reading on what the wind is up to at six points between you and a target
Trijicon's Ventus is the world's first hand-held wind mapper and rangefinder
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Trijicon's Ventus is the world's first hand-held wind mapper and rangefinder
The Ventus X has Bluetooth connectivity and a smartphone app
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The Ventus X has Bluetooth connectivity and a smartphone app
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The Trijicon Ventus looks like a set of binoculars, but in actuality it's the world's first hand-held device capable of providing three-dimensional wind data at multiple points between a shooter and a target up to 500 yards (457 m) away.

Wind deflection begins to become an issue with longer-range shooting, dragging a bullet further off course the closer the wind gust is to the shooter. Scope and sight specialists at Trijicon have come up with a device that gives sports and military shooters all the information they need to account for wind as they sight in on a target.

The Ventus sends out a LiDAR signal, which is partially reflected by particulate matter in the air. The motion of that particulate matter is enough to slightly shift the wavelength of the returning laser energy thanks to the doppler effect, and the Ventus is able to read these movements in three dimensions at six points between you and the target, coming back with readings for head/tailwinds, crosswinds, and up and downdrafts you can use to adjust your aim.

By reading the doppler shift in the wavelength of laser energy reflected by particulate matter in the air, the Ventus can give you a three-dimensional reading on what the wind is up to at six points between you and a target
By reading the doppler shift in the wavelength of laser energy reflected by particulate matter in the air, the Ventus can give you a three-dimensional reading on what the wind is up to at six points between you and a target

Its fiber optic laser is also capable of range-finding a target up to 5,000 yards (4,572 m) away, a distance 30 percent greater than the longest confirmed sniper kill shot. Since the Ventus has been built and tested to meet military specifications for ruggedness, there's a chance it might be used by military spotters in the field.

A costlier Ventus X version adds Bluetooth connectivity, as well as ballistics-solving gear that can measure temperature, stratospheric pressure, incline angles as well as wind and range to calculate first-round hit probabilities and send them to a smartphone app that can add geolocation, range tables and reticle holdover views to the mix.

It'll go on sale in the second half of 2020.

Check out a video below.

Trijicon Ventus™

Source: Trijicon

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3 comments
3 comments
Nobody
This sounds really cool until you have taken all the measurements and calculated the exact trajectory only to have the prairie dog duck back into his den as you pull the trigger. I'll save my money until they come out with the random prairie dog movement calculator. For a man sized target at under 500 yards and light winds this is pretty much wasted technology, but for a military sniper shooting well over 500 - 1500 yards, this could be valuable.
Stephen Colbourne
I see other uses for this device. e.g when hang gliding it is essential to choose the right time to jump off the hill to catch thermals. In sailing it could be useful in catching the strongest wind gust.
El Greco
Very cool - to Stephen's point, I posted this to a paragliding group. Too big to use as in-flight spotter unfortunately. I's be interested to know how they measure transverse movement (left, right, up, down) which is much more difficult than away/towards sensor.