In general, there are various ways to create antenna beams required in, for example, radar wind profiling. One way is to use a micro-strip patch phased array. Another way is to use multiple antennas such as coaxial-collinear elements (“sticks”) in a perpendicular array or with three or five panels. Commercial wind profilers have relied primarily on these two methods. However, among other things, these two methods create antenna beams which produce relatively high side-lobe antenna patterns (since it is difficult to amplitude taper these antennas), and have phase-shifters (RF switches used for pointing) such that both methods can be difficult to maintain and debug. Moreover, these two methods tend to have a problem with ground clutter, and also under-sample the atmosphere due to the formation of only 2, 3 or 5 separately pointed beams.
Still further, radio acoustic sounding systems (RASS) are often included with a radar wind profiler and also provide profiles of virtual temperature. Current systems utilize separate acoustic antenna systems to focus and transmit the sound.