Autonomous intelligence surveillance reconnaissance and payload delivery system and method of using same

Abstract

An intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system is disclosed including a ground station and one or more aerial vehicles. The aerial vehicles are autonomous systems capable of communicating intelligence data to the ground station and be used as part of a missile delivery package. A plurality of aerial vehicles can be configured to cast a wide net of reconnaissance over a large area on the ground including smaller overlapping reconnaissance areas provided by each of the plurality of the aerial vehicles.

1 - 82 . (canceled) 
     
     
         83 . A vehicle, comprising:
 a skin defining an interior volume adapted to hold a quantity of fluid that is lighter than air;   a blow-hole formed in the skin;   a valve positioned in said blow-hole and having a closed position sealing the blow-hole and at least one opened position allowing the fluid to escape from within the interior volume; and   a solenoid operatively coupled to the valve;   wherein changing a state of the solenoid changes a degree of opening of the valve between the closed position and the opened position.   
     
     
         84 . The vehicle of  claim 83 , wherein the valve is biased toward the open position at least partially by a pressure of the fluid in the interior volume. 
     
     
         85 . The vehicle of  claim 83 , further comprising a data processing device operatively coupled to the solenoid and operative to change the state of the solenoid. 
     
     
         86 . The vehicle of  claim 83 , further comprising:
 a data processing device operatively coupled to the solenoid; and   a pressure sensor operatively coupled to the data processing device;   wherein:
 the pressure sensor is operative to measure a pressure within the interior volume; and 
 the data processing device is operative to change the state of the solenoid based upon a pressure value measured by the pressure sensor. 
   
     
     
         87 . The vehicle of  claim 83 , wherein the valve is biased toward one of the opened position and changing the state of the solenoid changes the degree of opening of the valve. 
     
     
         88 . The vehicle of  claim 83 , wherein changing the degree of opening of the valve creates any one of a plurality of fluid release rates. 
     
     
         89 . The vehicle of  claim 83 , wherein the blow-hole has a diameter between two inches and twelve inches. 
     
     
         90 . The vehicle of  claim 83 , wherein:
 the blow-hole comprises a plurality of blow-holes;   the valve comprises a plurality of valves, each of the plurality of valves positioned in a respective one of the plurality of blow-holes;   the solenoid is operatively coupled to the plurality of valves.   
     
     
         91 . The vehicle of  claim 83 , wherein:
 the blow-hole comprises a plurality of blow-holes;   the valve comprises a plurality of valves, each of the plurality of valves positioned in a respective one of the plurality of blow-holes;   the solenoid comprises a plurality of solenoids, each of the plurality of solenoids operatively coupled to a respective one of the plurality of valves.   
     
     
         92 . The vehicle of  claim 83 , wherein the valve fails to the opened position if the solenoid fails to move the valve to a different position. 
     
     
         93 . The vehicle of  claim 83 , wherein the valve comprises a valve body and a valve seat. 
     
     
         94 . The vehicle of  claim 93 , wherein the valve seat comprises rubber. 
     
     
         95 . The vehicle of  claim 93 , wherein the valve body comprises a tapered valve body. 
     
     
         96 . The vehicle of  claim 93 , wherein the valve further comprises a travel limiting stop that limits the length of travel of the valve body. 
     
     
         97 . The vehicle of  claim 83 , further comprising a blower fan in fluid communication with the blow-hole. 
     
     
         98 . The vehicle of  claim 97 , wherein the blower fan is operative to suck fluid from the interior volume. 
     
     
         99 . The vehicle of  claim 97 , wherein the blower fan is operative to force fluid into the interior volume. 
     
     
         100 . A vehicle, comprising:
 a skin defining an interior volume adapted to hold a first quantity of fluid that is lighter than air;   a bladder releasably coupled to an exterior portion of the skin, the bladder adapted to hold a second quantity of fluid that is lighter than air;   wherein the first quantity of fluid does not intermingle with the second quantity of fluid.   
     
     
         101 . The vehicle of  claim 100 , further comprising at least one connector releasably coupling the bladder to the skin. 
     
     
         102 . The vehicle of  claim 101 , wherein the at least one connector comprises a plurality of cords. 
     
     
         103 . The vehicle of  claim 101 , further comprising a data processing device coupled to the at least one connector and operable to separate the at least one connector from the vehicle. 
     
     
         104 . The vehicle of  claim 101 , further comprising:
 at least one solenoid operatively coupled to the at least one connector; and   a data processing device operatively coupled to the at least one solenoid;   wherein the data processing device is operable to activate the at least one solenoid, and operation of the at least one solenoid is operable to separate the at least one connector from the vehicle.   
     
     
         105 . The vehicle of  claim 100 , wherein the bladder comprises a sheet of material, such that the sheet and the vehicle skin cooperate to form a chamber to hold the second quantity of fluid. 
     
     
         106 . The vehicle of  claim 100 , wherein the bladder comprises a sheet of material that completely forms a chamber to hold the second quantity of fluid. 
     
     
         107 . A vehicle, comprising:
 a skin defining an interior volume adapted to hold a first quantity of fluid that is lighter than air;   at least one closable aperture in the skin;   a ballonet disposed within the interior volume and adapted to hold a second quantity of fluid, the ballonet defining a ballonet volume; and   at least one lumen fluidically coupling the ballonet and the at least one aperture for controllable flow of fluid therebetween;   wherein the ballonet is not coupled to the skin except by the at least one lumen.   
     
     
         108 . The vehicle of  claim 107 , wherein each of the at least one closable apertures comprises a solenoid valve. 
     
     
         109 . The vehicle of  claim 107 , further comprising at least one fan operatively coupled to each of the at least one closable apertures. 
     
     
         110 . The vehicle of  claim 107 , wherein the ballonet volume comprises between about 30% to about 90% of the interior volume. 
     
     
         111 . The vehicle of  claim 110 , wherein the ballonet volume comprises between about 40% to about 90% of the interior volume. 
     
     
         112 . The vehicle of  claim 111 , wherein the ballonet volume comprises between about 50% to about 90% of the interior volume.