Design and Simulation of a Flying Battery for UAV Rescue Missions

We present a Flying Battery UAV (FB-UAV) concept that restores power to distressed UAVs mid-mission via two modes: rapid field hot-swap and in-flight umbilical top-up. A physics-based 3D simulation environment with a mission heads-up display (HUD), ROS/PX4 dynamics, and energy-transfer logging was developed to evaluate feasibility across emergency scenarios. Monte Carlo trials (n = 50) within a 10–20 km sprint radius show that mobile energy logistics can increase endurance by up to 120%, with a mean intercept time of 10.5 min, net transfer of ~1.25 kWh, and a mission success rate of 92%, while maintaining peak thermal load ≈ 35 °C under 2.1 kW transfer. Results indicate that dual-mode replenishment reduces downtime versus base-only charging, enabling continuous operations for SAR and BVLOS missions. The study outlines interface, safety, and guidance requirements for docking and tether management, and defines a path toward field trials and regulatory integration.