Patent ID: 7798449

Claim:
A system for refueling a first unmanned aerial vehicle from a second unmanned aerial vehicle comprising: means for flying said first and second vehicles to proximity within a predetermined range; means for connecting an umbilical from one vehicle to the other vehicle in flight, said means for connecting including a targeting system for magnetically detecting a refueling receptacle coupled to said first vehicle, said targeting system including: a first coil disposed around said refueling receptacle on said first vehicle, second coil disposed around said receptacle on said first vehicle means for exciting said first and second coils with first and second respective signals at first and second separate and distinct frequencies, a seeker disposed at a first end of said umbilical on said second vehicle, said seeker including first and second detector coils adapted to detect a magnetic signal from said first and said second coils, logic means for receiving a signal output by at least one of said detector coils and determining a direction and a range to said receptacle from said umbilical in response thereto.