A couple years ago our laboratory was tasked with determining the optimal place to measure wind.

[DocBeech]

One of the things we were lucky enough to do in our lab with our team was the DARPA one shot program. The task of the program was to develop a laser range finder that would average the wind between the shooter and the target. Today, while I cannot share the device, we can now do this with a weapon mounted LRF likely smaller than you are picturing in your head. As a part of that program we also did a study on where the wind measurements matter the most. Here is one of the research articles produced from our study: https://appliedballisticsllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Where-does-wind-matter.pdf

Here is a picture of the first device:

Here is the public record picture of the next iteration from that:

Then we got it this small:

I cannot share anything not in the public domain so I have to stop there. But you get the idea, and I hope the article helps you.

 

[Lead Belly]

Fascinating write-up. Thank you for sharing. I guess the old 'wet your finger method and hold it up' was a sage practice.

I bet this wind calculation technology will also make it's way to Boston Dynamics or the drone makers for implementation in next-gen autonomous fighters.