A pumped optical ring laser sensor such as a gyroscope includes a pulsed laser source to generate optical pump pulses and a synchronously pumped ring laser. The ring laser is optically pumped by first optical pump pulses from the pulsed laser source that are directed in a clock-wise (CW) direction through the ring laser and by second optical pump pulses from the pulsed laser source that are directed in a counter-clock wise (CCW) direction through the ring laser. The ring laser has an optical resonator that includes a gain medium for producing CW and CCW frequency-shifted pulses from the first and second optical pump pulses. The ring laser further includes a port for receiving the first and second pump pulses and for extracting the CW and CCW frequency-shifted pulses from the ring laser such that the frequency-shifted pulses overlap in time after being extracted to generate a beatnote.