A drop kit that attaches to a pair of parallel picatinny rails one drone uses a pair of drop mechanisms that hold one side of a load bearing basket. The opposing side of the basket is pivotally secured to a goggle plate. Each drop mechanism is attached to one of the rails and the goggle plate to both of the rails via a spring-loaded centering clamp system. The drop mechanisms use a drop cam that rotates between and open and closed position so that when the drone arrives at a desired spot, a signal is provided to a pair of motors, each motor associated with one of the drop mechanisms, in order to rotate the drop cam into its open position, releasing its side of the basket with the opposing side of the basket pivoting and then falling free of the goggle plate.

An unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments generally includes a chassis, a power supply mounted to the chassis, a control system operable to receive power from the power supply, at least one rotor operable to generate lift under control of the control system, and a winch mounted to the chassis. The winch includes a reel and a motor. The reel has a line wound thereon, the line having a free end. The reel includes a circumferential channel in which a wound portion of the line is wound onto the reel. The circumferential channel includes an inner portion, an outer portion, and a passage connecting the inner portion and the outer portion. The motor is operable to rotate the reel under control of the control system to thereby cause the line to wind onto and off of the reel, thereby causing the free end of the line to raise and lower.

An aerial payload deployment system includes: an aerial vehicle including a flight controller operable to control a flight of the aerial vehicle; and a payload deployment system coupled to the aerial vehicle and configured to deploy a payload to an elevated lateral pole-like structure. The payload deployment system includes: a tethered payload system including: a tether having a first end portion and a second end portion; and a counterweight coupled to the first end portion of the tether, the second end portion of the tether being coupled to the payload to be deployed; and a payload release system configured to releasably secure the tethered payload system and is actuatable to release the tethered payload system in a manner such that when the tethered payload system descends towards the elevated lateral pole-like structure after being released, the counterweight is spaced laterally apart from the payload.