A method and apparatus for scalable and fast deployment of drones are presented. The method is based on packing multiple drones within a cell structure that provides means for changing, communication and fast deployment of drones as well as environmental protection. Multiple cells can be combined the further scale up the number and rate of drones being deployed. In a preferable arrangement, individual drones are equipped with special contacts that allow them to connect to the cell and optionally with other drones for power supply, diagnostic and communication.

An expendable rotary wing unmanned aircraft capable of storage in a cylindrical housing includes a longitudinally extending body having an upper end and a lower end; and a pair of counter-rotating coaxial rotors each located at respective ends of longitudinally-extending body, wherein each rotor includes two or more blades, each blade rotatably coupled to a remainder of the rotor at a hinged joint and thereby extending along a length of the body in a storage configuration and extending radially outward from the body in a flight configuration.

Equipment and methods that combine the use of wave powered vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones). A UAV can be launched from a wave-powered vehicle, observe another vessel, and report the results of its observation to the wave-powered vehicle, and the wave-powered vehicle can report the results of the observation to a remote location. The UAV can land on water and can then be recovered by the wave-powered vehicle.

An aircraft including a wing system, a plurality of control surfaces, a camera mounted on a camera pod, and a control system. The camera pod is configured to vary the orientation of the camera field of view only in yaw, relative to the aircraft, between a directly forward-looking orientation and a side-looking orientation. The control system controls the control surfaces such that they induce a significant aircraft yaw causing an identified target to be within the field of view of the camera with the camera in the directly forward-looking orientation.

Provided is a non-motorized flying unit. The non-motorized flying unit includes a body part having a head part and a tail part having an accommodation space and a through hole, an image capturing unit installed in the through hole and configured to obtain an image information, a protective window installed in the through hole, a plurality of shock absorbing devices installed at the end portion of the tail part, a weight installed at the end portion of the tail part, and a lighting device installed at an end portion of the plurality of shock absorbing devices. A propulsion unit which is detachably coupled to the tail part storing a propellant which, upon combustion, forms pressure in the propulsion unit to provide thrust to the body part.

Systems and methods using a lift tube with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) air traffic control system include staging one or more UAVs and associated cargo for takeoff; moving the staged one or more UAVs to a lift tube; and controlling the lift tube by the UAV air traffic control system to provide the one or more UAVs for takeoff, wherein the lift tube is a vertical structure disposed in a facility to raise the one or more UAVs from an interior position in the facility for takeoff outside of the facility.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launch tube that comprises at least one inner layer of prepreg substrate disposed about a right parallelepiped aperture, at least one outer layer of prepreg substrate disposed about the right parallelepiped aperture, and one or more structural panels disposed between the at least one inner layer of prepreg substrate and the at least one outer layer of prepreg substrate. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launch tube that comprises a tethered sabot configured to engage a UAV within a launcher volume defined by an inner wall, the tethered sabot dimensioned to provide a pressure seal at the inner wall and tethered to the inner wall, and wherein the tethered sabot is hollow having an open end oriented toward a high pressure volume and a tether attached within a hollow of the sabot and attached to the inner wall retaining the high pressure volume or attach to the inner base wall. A system comprising a communication node and a launcher comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a pre-launch state configured to receive and respond to command inputs from the communication node.

A shock resistant fuselage system includes first and second fuselage side walls, each of the first and second fuselage side walls having a plurality of guide posts, and a printed circuit board (PCB) rigidly attached to at least one of the first and second fuselage side walls, the PCB having a plurality of guide slots, each of the plurality of guide posts slideably seated in a respective one of the plurality of guide slots so that elastic deformation of the PCB is guided by the guide slots between the first and second fuselage side walls.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launch system includes a launch container including a housing defining an internal chamber. A UAV includes a main body defining an inflatable envelope. The UAV is configured to be contained within the internal chamber. The main body is in a deflated state when the UAV is contained within the internal chamber. A reactant is configured to react with water to produce a lifting gas. The inflatable envelope is configured to be inflated by the lifting gas in response to the reactant reacting with the water to deploy the UAV from the launch container.

Described herein are apparatuses that provided various features related to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). An example apparatus may include, among other features, (i) a launch system for a UAV, (ii) a landing feature that is arranged on the apparatus so as to receive the UAV when the UAV returns from a flight, and (iii) a mechanical battery-replacement system that is configured to (a) remove a first battery from the UAV, and (b) after removal of the first battery, install a second battery in the UAV.