Today, we’re joined by the minds behind Vortex Optics’ New Product Development team, Ben and Connor, some of the company’s brains behind Vortex’s own “Skunkworks.” This group is responsible for everything from Vortex’s affordable red dots and scopes to the top-secret XM157 Fire Control optic developed for the U.S. Army’s NGSW Program meant to work with the M7 and M250 platforms. Today, engineers Ben and Connor share insight into some of Vortex’s newest 2026 releases – at least the ones they can tell us about for now. Today we’ll be talking about the recently released civilian variant of the AMG 1-10×24 LPVO, the new Triumph 1-10×42 Relay-equipped rangefinding binoculars, and the Vortex Ace portable weather station. Together, these products expand the Vortex Relay ecosystem, giving shooters an integrated and highly capable ranging and weather data suite for more precise, confident shots in any setup. Please give Connor and Ben a warm welcome to the show, and be sure to check out the Vortex Nation Podcast for more insights into what’s going on at Vortex HQ.
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TFB Behind the Gun #202: The Vortex “Skunkworks” NPD Division
On today’s episode of TFB’s Behind the Gun Podcast, we get to pick the brains of the guys behind the latest and greatest that comes out of the doors of the Vortex Optics New Product Development group. The literal “Skunkworks” of their company, the New Products Development team gets to imagine, test out, and develop everything from the very affordable budget-oriented red dots and scopes you know and love, to the extremely secretive and currently still classified XM157 Fire Control optic that has been a part of the U.S. Army’s NGSW Program. Today, we’ll have the opportunity to speak with Ben and Connor, both engineers who work within the NPD division, and they will share with us some of the what and why behind their newest products of 2026 so far. We’re of course talking about the brand new Civilian variant of the Vortex AMG 1-10×24 LPVO, the Vortex Triumph 1-10×42 Relay equipped rangefinding binoculars, and the brand new Vortex Ace portable weather station. These new products further flesh out the Vortex Relay system, giving the end user a simple yet extremely capable ranging and weather data suite that allows them to take more informed and accurate shots, regardless of the number of components used.
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