Method and system for providing an aerial display

A system configured to provide an air display, the system comprising:

• a plurality of unmanned aircraft, each unmanned aircraft of the plurality of unmanned aircraft comprises a lighting source, a data store, and an identifier,
• a ground station configured to communicate with the plurality of unmanned aircraft via a first data connection, and
• a control unit configured to perform mission control and fleet control, wherein:
• the control unit is communicatively coupled to the ground station and is configured to indirectly communicate with the plurality of unmanned aircraft via the ground station and the first data connection,
• the control unit is configured to communicate directly with the plurality of unmanned aircraft via a second data connection,
• the ground station is configured to automatically load, via the first data connection, mission data comprising a plurality of flight path numbers and a plurality of keyframe positions corresponding to a portion of the plurality of unmanned aircraft into the data store of each unmanned aircraft of the plurality of unmanned aircraft, each flight path number and keyframe position of the mission data corresponding to a different unmanned aircraft of the portion of the plurality of unmanned aircraft,
• the control unit is configured to query and store the identifiers, GPS data, and a status of the portion of the plurality of unmanned aircraft,
• the control unit is configured to calculate flight paths for each unmanned aircraft of the portion of the plurality of unmanned aircraft based on the GPS data and a first target position of each unmanned aircraft of the portion of the plurality of unmanned aircraft,
• the control unit is configured to assign flight path numbers to each unmanned aircraft of the portion of the plurality of the unmanned aircraft, and
• each unmanned aircraft of the portion of the plurality of unmanned aircraft are configured to perform independent and synchronized performance of a mission after launch based on a corresponding assigned flight path number and the mission data.