Patent ID: 7837151

Claim:
In a system for refueling a first airborne vehicle from a second airborne vehicle, said system including a probe mounted on said first vehicle and a drogue mounted on a boom connected to said second vehicle, said probe being connectable to said drogue for feeding fuel from said first vehicle to said second vehicle comprising: at least one beacon for generating a beam mounted on one of said vehicles; a detector mounted on the other of said vehicles for detecting said at least one beacon and generating a signal in accordance with the relative motion between the probe and the drogue; a mechanism operable to respond to said signal by controlling the relative motion between said probe of the first vehicle and said drogue, said mechanism comprising a tensioned reel connected between said second vehicle body and said boom, and an actuator member extending between the body of said second vehicle and said boom, said actuator member, said tensioned reel, said boom and said second vehicle body forming a triangle.