Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed. An example locking assembly for an arresting hook system includes a track coupled to a frame of an aircraft. The track includes a forward end and an aft end opposite the forward end. The track includes a first lock positioned at the forward end and a second lock positioned at the aft end. The locking assembly includes a guide coupled to a hook shank of the arresting hook system. The guide is to move along at least a portion of the track, engage the first lock when the hook shank is in a stowed position, and bypass the second lock as the hook shank moves from the stowed position to a deployed position.

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed. An example locking assembly for an arresting hook system includes a track coupled to a frame of an aircraft. The track includes a forward end and an aft end opposite the forward end. The track includes a first lock positioned at the forward end and a second lock positioned at the aft end. The locking assembly includes a guide coupled to a hook shank of the arresting hook system. The guide is to move along at least a portion of the track, engage the first lock when the hook shank is in a stowed position, and bypass the second lock as the hook shank moves from the stowed position to a deployed position.

A capturing hook for engaging a cable during capture and release of an aerial vehicle may comprise a first and second gate pivotally supported at their first ends by a base portion and each being movable between a closed position and an open position, but spring-biased to the closed position. The capturing hook may further include a latch device comprising a movable locking part biased by a return spring to a locked position to lock the second gate in the closed position.

An aerial vehicle landing station comprising a first post and a second post, wherein the second post is spaced apart from the first post and a cable to capture an aerial vehicle, wherein the cable is stretched between the first post and the second post and configured to support the weight of the aerial vehicle once captured and the cable may provide a charging current to the aerial vehicle once captured. One or more markers may be further positioned on the cable to designate a landing point, wherein the one or more markers are configured to be visually tracked by the aerial vehicle. A cable management device coupled to the cable via one or more pulleys may regulate tension of the cable. A communications transceiver at the aerial vehicle landing station may wirelessly communicate data with the aerial vehicle.

An aerial vehicle having a vision based navigation system for capturing an arresting cable situated at a landing site may comprise a fuselage having a propulsion system; an arresting device coupled to the fuselage, the arresting device to capture the arresting cable at the landing site; a camera situated on the aerial vehicle; an infrared illuminator situated on the aerial vehicle to illuminate the landing site, wherein the arresting cable has two infrared reflectors situated thereon; and an onboard vision processor. The onboard vision processor may (i) generate a plurality of coordinates representing features of the landing site using an image thresholding technique, (ii) eliminate one or more coordinates as outlier coordinates using linear correlation, and (iii) identify two of the plurality of coordinates as the two infrared reflectors using a Kalman filter.

An aerial vehicle having a vision based navigation system for capturing an arresting cable situated at a landing site may comprise a fuselage having a propulsion system; an arresting device coupled to the fuselage, the arresting device to capture the arresting cable at the landing site; a camera situated on the aerial vehicle; an infrared illuminator situated on the aerial vehicle to illuminate the landing site, wherein the arresting cable has two infrared reflectors situated thereon; and an onboard vision processor. The onboard vision processor may (i) generate a plurality of coordinates representing features of the landing site using an image thresholding technique, (ii) eliminate one or more coordinates as outlier coordinates using linear correlation, and (iii) identify two of the plurality of coordinates as the two infrared reflectors using a Kalman filter.