A system for fighting fires has a source of fire-retardant material, a delivery hose connected to the source has a delivery nozzle at an end, and an end effector carrying the delivery hose proximate the nozzle. The end effector has controllable thrusters, an imaging device, and control circuitry including a display monitor, the control circuitry providing commands controlling actuators varying thrust and direction of the thrusters, and a valve in the delivery nozzle. With the delivery hose deployed, images from the end effector are transmitted to the control circuitry and displayed on the display monitor, and an operator viewing the images on the display monitor uses the command inputs to maneuver the end effector, carrying the nozzle at the end of the delivery hose to a position proximate an active fire, and opens the valve on the nozzle, delivering fire retardant material from the nozzle onto the fire.

A system for delivering objects from a fixed-wing aircraft has a first tether having a connector on a deployed end, an anchor apparatus fixed to a point on the ground, a slide ring assembled over the first tether, a drag line connected to the slide ring by one end, and a drag-producing device connected to at a second end, and an object carrying apparatus connected by a support line. The aircraft is flown at an altitude in an orbit at a diameter and a speed such that the deployed first tether assumes a spiral pattern. An object is placed in the object-carrying apparatus and released from the aircraft, with the slide ring guiding along the first tether, and the drag-producing element slows descent of the object in the carrying apparatus in the spiral pattern until the object reaches the ground, where the object is removed from the object-carrying apparatus.

A flying object with a landing gear module serving as a floating weight that can be used simultaneously with an airship and an aerial mooring type aerostat, and more particularly, a flying object capable of simultaneously allowing a landing gear to serve as a floating weight, thereby stably simplifying a mooring process of the flying object and manufacturing the flying object at low cost.

A personnel rescue system has a winch subsystem comprising a first tether deployable and retrievable with a powered winch, a powered and controllable end effector attached at a deployable end of the first tether, a second tether attached by a first end to the end effector, a personnel harness attached at a second end of the second tether; and control apparatus in communication with the end effector, the control apparatus operable to maneuver the end effector vertically and laterally, carrying the personnel harness to a subject to be rescued.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capture devices and methods of operation are disclosed. A UAV capture device may include a netting system including a net launch device and a net, a propulsion system including a plurality of propellers coupled to one or more motors, a positioning system, a camera system, and a processing system coupled to the netting system, the propulsion system, the positioning system, and the camera system. The processing system may include logic to operate the propulsion system to autonomously navigate to a general location of a target UAV, to operate the propulsion system to pursue the target UAV, to deploy the netting system to propel the net at the target UAV, and to confirm if the target UAV is captured in the net. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are also included.

A system delivering fire retardant materials in fighting a surface fire is provided, having an aircraft carrying the fire-retardant material, a hose deployable from the aircraft, the delivery hose connected to the reservoir and having a controllable nozzle at a deployed end with a remotely operable valve, an end effector connected by a multi-axis gimbal at the deployed end of the delivery hose the end effector having fixed wings with ailerons and elevators, and a rudder, the ailerons, elevators and rudder moved by electrical actuators, and control apparatus and circuitry in the aircraft and the end effector enabling an operator in manipulating the ailerons, elevators and the rudder. An operative in the aircraft controls the end effector via the control apparatus to fly at a lower altitude and in a different path than the aircraft, and opens the remotely operable valve to deliver the fire-retardant material from the delivery hose.

A data delivery system has a tether deployable from an aircraft having a first data repository, a transmission pod at a deployed end of the tether, the transmission pod having first wireless communication circuitry, a communication conductor in parallel with the tether connecting the data repository in the aircraft with the first wireless communication circuitry in the transmission pod, and a receiving station on ground surface having a receiving antenna, second wireless communication circuitry compatible with the first wireless communication circuitry in the transmission pod, and a second data repository. The tether is deployed from the aircraft in a manner to position the transmission pod stationary proximate the receiving station antenna, and data is downloaded from the data repository in the aircraft to the data repository in the receiving station via the communication conductor and the wireless communication circuitry in the transmission pod.

An imaging system has a tether sub-system deployable and retrievable from an aircraft, an imaging device attached at a deployable end of the tether, and control apparatus comprising control and communication circuitry receiving images captured by the imaging apparatus and storing the images. The tether is deployed to a predetermined length, the aircraft is piloted in a flight pattern causing the imaging device at the deployed end of the tether to attain a fixed position proximate an imaging target, and the control apparatus is operated to capture images of the target.

A satellite refueling system has a refueling satellite carrying fuel, a fuel hose connected to the fuel carried by the refueling satellite, with a maneuverable end effector at a deployed end of the fuel hose, the end effector comprising a fuel supply nozzle connected to the fuel hose, a plurality of thrusters on the end effector providing thrust in a plurality of directions, an imaging device on the end effector capturing images in an immediate environment of the end effector, and computerized circuitry operating individual ones of the plurality of thrusters in response to the images captured by the imaging device. The refueling satellite deploys the fuel hose, and the computerized circuitry operates the thrusters to maneuver the end effector, bringing the fuel supply nozzle to a location to deliver fuel.

An airborne docking method is provided for an unmanned aerial vehicle. The airborne docking method includes securing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to a host aircraft via a docking assembly having a base coupled to the host aircraft, a tug device, and a cable connecting the tug device to the base, the tug device being engaged with the base, and the UAV being engaged to the tug device. The tug device is deployed from the base and the cable is extended therebetween to distance the tug device from the base. The UAV is then disengaged from the tug device.