439 results about "Catapult" patented technology

An apparatus for launching an aircraft having a multiplicity of interconnected elongated tracks of rigid material forming a track system and wherein each elongated track has a predetermined elongated track cross-sectional design, a winch system connected to the track system wherein the winch system has a variable mechanical advantage, one or more elongated elastic members wherein one end of each of the one or more elongated elastic members is adjustably connected to the track system, and a carrier slidably mounted to the track system wherein the carrier is connected to the winch system and to the other end of each of the one or more elongated elastic members.

A method of launching a catapult, a catapult and a locking device for a catapult. The catapult comprises a carriage (4) for fastening an aircraft (5). The carriage (4) can be provided with a high acceleration by directing a launching force (F1) generated by a launching device thereto. The carriage (4) can be held at a launching position (6) by means of the locking device (9). The catapult further comprises a takeoff damper (34) that generates a damping force (F2) having a direction opposite relative to the launching force. Accordingly, the takeoff damper (34) restricts the acceleration of the carriage (4) at the initial launching moments.

The invention discloses an SMA wire driving catapult releasing device, and relates to a space mechanism. The device aims to solve the problems that when the current spacecraft deblocking releasing mechanism works, the impact is big and causes influences to the device; in addition, the current spacecraft deblocking releasing mechanism is strong in pollution and can not be reused, and has a complex structure at the same time. The SMA wire driving catapult releasing device comprises a detached body, a detached compression spring, a threaded rod piece, a connecting body, a lower limiting steel ball, a limiting compression spring, a driving compression spring, a restoration compression spring, a steel ball holder, a sliding bolt, an adapter sleeve, a bolt pin, an upper limiting steel ball, a shape memory alloy wire, an external shell body and a lower cover; the upper end of the external shell body is arranged on the connecting body; the bolt pin is arranged in the external shell body, the upper end of the external shell body penetrates through the connecting body in a sliding mode, the steel ball holder is arranged in the bolt pin, the shape memory alloy wire penetrates through the lower end of the sliding bolt and are led out through the external shell body, the restoration compression spring is arranged between the sliding bolt and the steel ball holder, and the driving compression spring is arranged in the external shell body; and the connecting cover is arranged on the upper end of the external shell body in a sleeving mode. The SMA wire driving catapult releasing device is used in aerospace.

The light-weight handheld less-lethal ballistic projectile launcher is configured as an “over / under” double barrel handheld device with a “break open” loading action. The launcher includes a barrel section pivotally connected to receiver section. The barrel section pivots between an open load / unload position and a closed firing position. The barrel section includes two metal barrel sleeves that are press fit into axial bores formed in the body of the barrel section. The barrel section also includes an ejector, which locks the barrel section in the closed firing position and partially expels spent rounds from the barrel sleeves when the barrel section is opened. The receiver section houses the launcher's fire control mechanism. The fire control mechanism uses a traditional single action operation and ensures that rounds are alternatively discharged from each barrel and prevents rounds from both barrels from being discharged simultaneously.

The invention provides a front undercarriage static force test loading device for a frame-type catapult-assisted take-off shipboard aircraft. The front undercarriage static force test loading device comprises a frame-type test stand, an undercarriage, a lateral load loading device, a course load loading device, a vertical load loading device, an ejection load loading device and a trapping load loading device. The front undercarriage static force test loading device is one of loading technologies in the prior art, the loading device is designed to realize ejection application and load trapping, vertical, course, lateral, ejection and trapping load loadings of the catapult-assisted take-off shipboard aircraft are accomplished on the test stand, tool replacement is not required, all loading points are respectively fixed in the frame-type test stand, a self-balance bearing system is established during loading, bearing force of the test stand is relatively small, and the loading device is convenient to fix and has high precision.

The invention provides a launch and withdraw device of an unmanned aerial vehicle and a method for the launch and withdraw device, and the device comprises a base, wherein the base is connected with a support platform through a support frame; an angle adjustment mechanism is further arranged between the base and the support platform; the support platform is slidingly provided with a withdraw platform and a catapult platform; the catapult platform comprises a second connecting plate; a groove is formed in the second connecting plate; a clamping plate is slidingly connected onto the second connecting plate; a hole is formed in the second connecting plate; an elastic rope passes through the hole to be fixedly connected onto the support platform; the withdraw platform comprises a lower jaw and an upper jaw; the upper jaw is arranged at the upper part of the lower jaw; the upper jaw is provided with a flexible buffer strip; the end, close to the catapult platform, of the lower part of the lower jaw is provided with a hook; the lower jaw is internally provided with a recovery rack; the recovery rack is provided with an unmanned aerial vehicle attitude adjustment mechanism and an unmanned aerial vehicle pushing mechanism; a wedge-shaped block is arranged on the end, close to the catapult platform, of the support platform; a cam corresponding to the hook is arranged on the end, far away from the catapult platform, of the support platform. By adopting the launch and withdraw device of the unmanned aerial vehicle, straight path launch can be realized, the catapult launch efficiency is high, a withdraw process is accurate and stable, and the launch and the withdraw can be realized at the same time.

The invention relates to an active maglev electromagnetic catapult for aircraft carriers. The active maglev electromagnetic catapult comprises a maglev guide rail fixed on a catapult base, a catapult platform sleeved on the guide rail, and a linear motor. The shipboard aircraft catapult platform is supported by active maglev supporting technology and is driven by the high-power linear catapult motor, and catapult-assisted take-off of shipboard aircrafts is achieved. The active maglev supporting technology is introduced, a catapult platform position control system and a speed control system are provided, and accordingly positioning precision and catapulting speed of the catapult platform are increased greatly, electrification is achieved and the service life is prolonged. The active maglev electromagnetic catapult has the advantages of adjustable supporting rigidity and damping, no friction, no need of lubrication, no environment pollution and the like.

The invention discloses a universal type elastic potential energy mechanical catapult for a single tandem wing unmanned aerial vehicle with a rear propeller. The universal type elastic potential energy mechanical catapult comprises a body, a catapulting frame assembly, a projecting frame assembly and an aerial vehicle body structure enhancing projecting assembly fixed to the lower portion of the aerial vehicle. A sliding rail is installed on the body, and a sliding block is embedded in the sliding rail. A catapult switch assembly is installed at the tail end of the body. A winch is installed on the lower portion of the body. Direction-adjustable supporting frame assemblies are installed on the two sides of the body. A roller shock absorption retainer assembly is installed at the head end of the body. The catapulting frame assembly is connected with the upper portion of the sliding block in the sliding rail. A projecting extension device is connected with the upper portion of the catapulting frame assembly, and the aerial vehicle is arranged on the projecting extension device. The aerial vehicle body structure enhancing projecting assembly matched with the projecting extension device is installed on the lower portion of the aerial vehicle body. By the adoption of modular design, the universal type elastic potential energy mechanical catapult is easy to disassemble and assemble and convenient to carry; the projecting extension device and the body can be combined conveniently and flexibly according to practical situations, the adaptability of the catapult to the unmanned aerial vehicle and the environment is improved, and the using efficiency-cost ratio can be effectively increased.

The invention provides a multifunctional unmanned plane launch and recovery vehicle which consists of a carrier, a lifting bracket, a gaseous catapult, recovery devices and an unmanned plane transfer box. The bottom of the lifting bracket is connected with the carrier, the gaseous catapult is arranged at the top part of the middle of the lifting bracket through a hinge, the recovery devices are arranged at the two sides of the lifting bracket, and the unmanned plane transfer box is arranged in the middle part of an upper bracket of the carrier. The recovery vehicle successfully solves launch and recovery difficulties which cannot be solved by an unmanned plane. The multifunctional unmanned plane launch and recovery vehicle has the following advantages that: (1) launch, recovery, storage and carrying in vehicle are integrated together, continuous launch and recovery of multiple planes can be achieved, no damage of planes is caused during transport in marching, planes can be launched and recovered at any time, the multifunctional unmanned plane launch and recovery vehicle can be suitable for bad field environment and can be free of ground environment influence; and (2) the flying resistance is low as the unmanned plane has no undercarriage, the unmanned plane does not need to carry a parachute and an anti-drop air sac, the characteristics of large fuel capacity, long cruising time, wide application scope and the like are realized, and good popularization and application values are achieved.

The invention discloses a ship-borne aircraft capturing and arresting device. The ship-borne capturing and arresting device comprises a ship-borne aircraft landing area, a ship-borne aircraft arresting device, a controller and a ship-borne aircraft capturing device, wherein the ship-borne aircraft arresting device comprises more than two arresting systems; each arresting system comprises arresting hooks, arresting cables and buffer devices; the arresting hooks are hinged with a torque arm of a ship-borne aircraft landing frame; one end of each arresting cable is connected with a group of buffer devices, and the other end of the arresting cable moves around a group of lift blocks sequentially and then is connected with another group of buffer devices; a group of catapults are arranged between two adjacent lift blocks in the group of lift blocks; the ship-borne aircraft capturing device comprises a sensor; and the controller automatically controls the actions of the catapults according to information fed back by the sensor. The device can ensure that the aerodynamic force of ship-borne aircrafts is not influenced by the arresting hooks when the ship-borne aircraft flies, the phenomenon that the arresting hooks are bounced and oscillated when the ship-borne aircrafts land on a ship is prevent, the landing success rate of the ship-borne aircrafts is improved, the structures of the arresting systems are simplified, and the weight of the arresting systems is reduced.

An athletic shoe includes an upper, an outsole, a pair of hinged plates, and a spring. The pair of hinged plates are attached between the outsole and the upper in a forefoot portion of the shoe, and the spring biases the plates apart, so that energy is stored and returned during a propulsion phase of a gait cycle in a human step. Foam may be disposed between the plates. A shroud may enclose an outer periphery of the plates. An adjustable torsion spring may be disposed in a hinge portion of the plates, and one or more wave springs may be disposed between the plates.

The self-sustaining drone aircraft freight and observation system (5) comprises a fleet of jet-powered drone aircraft (10) designed to carry freight (12) only. The drones (10) operate from a separate airfield in outlying areas to decrease land costs and to avoid disturbing residential and business areas. Navigation is automated using guidance from GPS satellites (16), and the aircraft (10) can be assisted by a hydraulic catapult (13) during takeoff to reduce the fuel payload. The observation component (18) includes sensors that can observe weather conditions and emergency signals from boats, ships and other sources. The system (5) may include a large-scale energy production center and multi-acre vegetable, herb and flower production center (26). The energy production center includes solar panels (30), fuel cells (38), and batteries (44). Thus, the system (5) does not need to be connected to the public utility electrical grid.

The invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle low impact catapult pneumatic and hydraulic system which is composed of a main oil pump electromagnetic unloading overflow valve, a main oil pump, a main oil pump motor, a supplemented oil pump electromagnetic unloading overflow valve, a supplemented oil pump, a supplemented oil pump motor, a cartridge valve, a first one-way valve, a safety valve, a motor, an electric-hydraulic proportional cartridge valve, a second one-way valve, a safety and stop valve, a third one-way valve, an energy accumulator, a pressure reducing valve, a speed regulating valve, an electromagnetic change valve, a proportional overflow valve, a decelerating hydraulic cylinder, an oil tank and oil pipes communicated with each element. According to the unmanned aerial vehicle low impact catapult pneumatic and hydraulic system, the hydraulic motor is adopted so as to drive a winding drum mechanism, the shortages that a high-speed hydraulic cylinder is adopted by a traditional pneumatic and hydraulic system and thus technology is complex and machining difficulty is large are overcome; the hydraulic motor is controlled by a proportional valve and closed-loop control is conducted on the rotation speed of the hydraulic motor, so that the ejection with high reliability and low impact in a start stage is achieved, and the shortages that the traditional pneumatic and hydraulic system is large in impact and poor in reliability are overcome.

The present invention relates to steam catapult, and is especially one kind of steam catapult for carrier -based aircraft in aircraft carrier. The steam catapult includes decks, one programmed control system, one catapult system and one sealed lubricating system. The catapult system includes one long guide slot in the deck tail, and one catapult buffer shifting along the guide slot. The sealed lubricating system is connected through high pressure steam pipe to one pneumatic valve. The steam catapult has low building cost, low catapult cost, low maintenance amount and high practicability.

A separable self-drilling embedment anchor belongs to the technical field of water conservancy and ship ocean engineering, and comprises an anchor body with an internal hollow cavity, a propeller and a separating component, wherein the propeller is used for providing power to lead the anchor body to be automatically drilled into and embedded into the soil, and the separating component arranged on the propeller is used for connection and disconnection of the propeller with the anchor body. Connection and disconnection of the anchor body with the propeller are completed by the separating component. The anchor body can be embedded into the soil under the action of exciting force of the propeller and gravity, and when the anchor body is embedded with a certain depth, a catapult is started to generate jet impact to push the propeller out of the anchor body, the anchor body is embedded into a deeper position of a bed material, peripheral liquefied bed materials backfill the hollow cavity of the anchor body to enhance the anchoring force, and embedment of the anchor body and recovery of the propeller are finally completed. Therefore, the embedment depth and the anchoring force of the dynamic anchor are increased, operating efficiency is improved, and technological implementation is simple. The separable self-drilling embedment anchor is low in construction cost as the propeller can be recovered and reused, and is low in manufacture cost as the hollow cavity designed in the anchor body can be used for backfilling the bed materials.

The invention relates to a launcher of an unmanned aerial vehicle, in particular to a catapult of an unmanned aerial vehicle. According to the technical scheme of the catapult of the flywheel-type high-speed unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle is arranged on a tackle and located at a launching position before being launched, a clutch in a power system is in a disconnected state, a motor drives a flywheel to rotate, and the rotating speed is set according to launching requirements; when the unmanned aerial vehicle is launched, the clutch of the power system is connected, the flywheel drives a winding wheel to rotate, a traction rope is wound into the winding wheel and drives the tackle and the unmanned aerial vehicle to move in an accelerated mode, when the tackle moves to a tackle position sensor, the clutch is controlled to be disconnected, the tackle continues to move forwards and is blocked by a blocking device, the winding wheel stops rotating, and the unmanned aerial vehicle flies out accordingly; after launching is finished, the tackle is pulled back to the initial launching position. According to the catapult of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the flywheel serves as an energy storage element and can rapidly accelerate the unmanned aerial vehicle to a large speed on a very short track, and catapult launching of the unmanned aerial vehicle with a high speed requirement is achieved.

The invention discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle system applied to weather modification. The unmanned aerial vehicle system comprises two engines, wherein a front-pull type engine (1) is connected with the head of an unmanned aerial vehicle and is used for providing forward pull; a rear-push type engine (2) is connected with the tail and is used for providing the push; and a pull line of the front-pull type engine (1) is overlapped with a push line of the rear-push type engine (2). During work, the two engines work simultaneously for providing the power for the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly, and when one engine is failed and shuts down, the other engine continuously works. The unmanned aerial vehicle at least can load eight silver iodide flames at high altitude of over 5,000 meters for artificial precipitation work, adopts the technology of catapult-assisted take-off and parachute recovery, and does not need special runways. A front edge deicing device is arranged on the front edges of the wings, and the problem that the wings are frozen is solved. The unmanned aerial vehicle system has the characteristics of simple and convenient operation, rapid maintenance, wide application range of using field.

A technique for launching a missile that avoids some of the costs and disadvantages for doing so in the prior art. In particular, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention uses an electromagnetic catapult to throw the missile clear of the launch platform—with sufficient velocity to attain aerodynamic flight—before the missile's engine is ignited.

The invention provides a launching return linkage type high-power aircraft carrier catapult. A piston is driven to move vertically in a cylinder by respectively charging air to two ends of the bidirectional cylinder and exhausting, movable pulleys at the ends of piton pull rods at two ends of the piston are further driven to match with fixed pulleys on an upper and lower fixed pulley fixing rack to straighten and bend a traction rope and a return rope, and the traction rope and the return rope synchronously drive accelerating slippage or origin return of a sliding shuttle on a take-off runway, and launching flying of an aircraft carrier can be realized by accelerating motion of the sliding shuttle on a launching runway. The catapult has the characteristics of simple structure, standard modularized production, convenience in assembly and maintenance, safety in use, high automation degree, long service life and the like, and is easy to machine, install and use; and automatic control of launching of the aircraft carrier and automatic return of the sliding shuttle can be realized through an electric control four-way valve and a sensor which is arranged on the end point of the take-off runway.

The invention provides a combined multipurpose aircraft carrier land-based catapult-assisted take-off training device which structurally comprises an engine base, a hydraulic lifting device, a cantilever runway, an aircraft carrier and a catapult assembly. The engine base is arranged in a groove excavated in the ground, one end of the cantilever runway is connected with the engine base through a hinge shaft, the catapult assembly is arranged in the engine base, the upper end of the hydraulic lifting device is hinged with the bottom of the cantilever runway, and the lower end of the hydraulic lifting device is connected with the bottom of the groove. The combined multipurpose aircraft carrier land-based catapult-assisted take-off training device has the advantages that the device is simple in structure, high in automation degree, convenient to operate, long in service life and easy to maintain and is safe and reliable; the device is high in adaptability since building of a land-based take-off runway is omitted; and due to the fact that a main take-off runway of an existing airport is occupied, the device can be mounted and used in any airport squares, and accordingly has high adaptability and powerful combat readiness function.

A method of launching a catapult, a catapult and a locking device for a catapult. The catapult comprises a carriage (4) for fastening an aircraft (5). The carriage (4) can be provided with a high acceleration by directing a launching force (F1) generated by a launching device thereto. The carriage (4) can be held at a launching position (6) by means of the locking device (9). The catapult further comprises a takeoff damper (34) that generates a damping force (F2) having a direction opposite relative to the launching force. Accordingly, the takeoff damper (34) restricts the acceleration of the carriage (4) at the initial launching moments.

The invention relates to a passive magnetic suspension type electromagnetic launcher for aircraft carriers. The passive magnetic suspension type electromagnetic launcher comprises a fixed launch base, a launch platform, and a linear motor; the launch platform and the linear motor are enclosed in the launch base. The carrier-based aircraft launch platform is supported by the passive magnetic suspension bearing technology; the launch platform is driven by a high-power linear launch motor, so that catapult-assisted take-off of the carrier-borne aircraft is achieved. Compared to the prior art, the passive magnetic suspension type electromagnetic launcher has the advantages that the passive magnetic suspension bearing technology is introduced, a speed control system is provided, precision and catapulting speed are greatly increased, electrification is achieved, catapulting distance is shortened, the service life is prolonged, and the launcher is friction free, energy saving, simple in structure, lubrication free, free of environmental pollution and the like.

The invention discloses an aircraft carrier rocket assist catapult which is mainly composed of a catapult track, a booster rocket and a canister launcher. The catapult track is arranged on a hangar foreground of a shipboard aircraft. The shipboard aircraft catapults directly on the catapult track. The rear side of the catapult track and a hangar floor are located in the same plane and connected through a pin shaft, a catapult track groove is formed in the middle, the rocket canister launcher is arranged on the lower side, and an upper opening of the canister launcher is tightly attached to the track groove. A sliding block tractor is arranged in the groove. A tractor hanging machine pull rod part is arranged on the upper portion of the catapult track, and a rocket hanging device is arranged on the portion, stretching into the canister launcher, of the lower portion of the catapult track. A backflow discharge flue and the canister launcher are arranged side by side. The booster rocket can be repeatedly used. After a first airplane is ignited and launched, the canister launcher is blown, then an appropriate amount of liquid propellant is injected into the booster rocket, and ignition is carried for launching again. The front and back slope of the catapult track can be adjusted through a hydraulic lifting device, and the sliding block tractor and the canister launcher automatically return under the effect of a spring and the track slope.

The invention discloses a full-floating pneumatic compressed catapult. An outer housing of the catapult consists of a left cylinder body, a right cylinder body and a back base, the two ends of the left cylinder body and the right cylinder body are respectively provided with a left cylinder cover and a right cylinder cover, a left piston and a right piston are respectively arranged in the left cylinder body and the right cylinder body, the left piston and the right piston are connected with each other by a suspension, a cavity between the left piston and the right piston forms an ejection cavity, an ejection mechanism consists of elastic swing rods, a rod base, a left ejection rod and a right ejection rod, and the left ejection rod and the right ejection rod are fixedly connected on the two ends of the rod base; the rod base is arranged in the ejection cavity, the elastic swing rods have at least one set of the rods, the set of the elastic swing rods consists of a plurality of the elastic swing rods which are circumferentially distributed along the central axis of the outer housing, and the two ends of each elastic swing rod are respectively articulated on the walls of a support steel ring and the rod base by a big knuckle spindle and a small knuckle spindle. As a fully enclosed cylinder is adopted, the airtightness is good and the heat utilization efficiency is high; as the structure of spring energy storage is adopted, the force at the time of ejection is very great, thus achieving the purpose of causing a heavy-duty aircraft to instantly lift off.

The invention belongs to the technical field of catapult-assisted take-off of aircrafts and particularly relates to a pneumatic catapult-assisted take-off device and method used for an unmanned plane. Rubber bands are adopted for most existing catapult devices in China, the service life of the rubber bands is short, the catapult weight of the catapult devices is low, the tail end catapulting speed of catapults is low, the maintenance cost is high, and the risk in the take-off stage is high; consequentially, the application and popularization of the catapults in the field of unmanned planes are limited, and the application range is narrow. By the adoption of the pneumatic catapult-assisted take-off device and method used for the unmanned plane, the unmanned plane is made to get rid of the limitation of airport conditions, the service life of an existing catapult is prolonged, and the catapult weight of the catapult is increased.

The invention relates to a demonstration device, in particular to a multi-functional launch demonstration device. The device comprises a small glass ball (5), a catapult, a glass tube (4) and an iron ball (8), wherein the small glass ball (5) does throwing motion; the catapult is used for launching the small glass ball (5); the glass tube (4) is used for supporting the small glass ball (5); the iron ball (8) does free-fall motion; a ditch-type switch (6) is arranged at a right end port of the glass tube (4); the upper end of the iron ball (8) is provided with an electromagnet (7) which can make the iron ball fall through the on and off of the circuit; and when the small glass ball (5) rushes to the right end port of the glass tube (4) to block the infrared ray in a notch of the ditch-type switch (6), the closed circuit is interrupted, the iron ball (8) freely falls to realize that the small throwing glass ball (5) and the free-fall iron ball (8) fall at the same time. The multi-functional launch demonstration device has the advantages of clear light path, nimble and fast reaction of an experiment, clear collision sound and clear and intuitive motion trail.

The invention relates to a repeating aircraft catapult which is a device for supplying power for aircraft in short distance on land, warships and aircraft carrier decks. The repeating aircraft catapult comprises a first-level acceleration main shaft, a second-level acceleration main shaft, a transmission shaft, an acceleration spiral orbit, a deceleration spiral orbit, a counterweight spiral orbit, a change gear, a rotary power source, an acceleration orbit, a main shaft positioning wheel, a transmission trolley, a trolley starting hook, a trolley arm, an arm closing spring, a trolley acceleration wheel, a trolley positioning wheel, a trolley pass-back orbit, a pass-back motor, a trolley starting wheel, a starting wheel motor, a starting wheel switch, a pressure switch, an equipment main switch, a main power supply, an equipment steel skeleton, a bearing or bearing bush, an electromagnet and the like. The repeating aircraft catapult can accelerate 40-ton aircraft to 80 m / s in 105-m distance within 5 s. The invention has the characteristics of less auxiliary equipment, simple maintenance and mature power equipment technology, can adopt gas engines, steam turbines and the like, and can continuously accelerate aircraft take-off.

The invention provides an electric and light-weight catapult with multiple strands of rubber strings for a small unmanned aerial vehicle.The electric and light-weight catapult is characterized by comprising a sliding rail, multiple strands of catapulting rubber string ropes, a catapulting tackle, a sliding rail supporting rod assembly, a movable pulley, a fixed pulley, an electric winch and a connection rope.The sliding rail supporting rod assembly supports the sliding rail and is arranged in an inclined mode, the higher end is the front end, and the lower end is the rear end; the catapulting tackle is slidably mounted on the sliding rail and can slide freely along the sliding rail; the electric winch is mounted on the lower side of the rear end of the sliding rail; the fixed pulley is mounted in an opening, close to the front end, of the sliding rail; one ends of the multiple strands of rubber string ropes are fixed to the lower side of the front end of the sliding rail, and the other ends penetrate through the movable pulley and the fixed pulley and then are fixedly connected to the catapulting tackle; the center of the movable pulley is connected with the electric winch through the connection rope.According to the electric and light-weight catapult, modular design is adopted, and the electric and light-weight catapult is simple and portable in structure, convenient to use and erect, safe, reliable, good in maneuvering characteristic and capable of being applied to complex terrain environments.

A ring airfoil style paintball comprises a ring airfoil carrying a visible marking agent. The marking agent is located in one more compartments in a nose portion of a body of the ring airfoil, or within one or more containers located in those compartments. The nose portion of the body of the airfoil is configured to rupture upon impacting a target, releasing the marking agent into contact with the target. Cartridges comprising a sabot containing the ring airfoil style paintball are launched from a launcher. The launcher includes a magazine for sequentially delivering cartridges for launch. A stripper associated with the launcher strips the sabot from the ring airfoil paintball, and an ejector ejects the stripped sabot from the launcher.

A technique for launching a missile that avoids some of the costs and disadvantages for doing so in the prior art. In particular, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention uses an electromagnetic catapult to throw the missile clear of the launch platform—with sufficient velocity to attain aerodynamic flight—before the missile's engine is ignited.