System and method for releasing and retrieving an AUV using a UAV

A method for releasing and retrieving an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle wherein the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has a latching mechanism comprising a central hub with an attachment point to a wire from the UAV and a motor controlling a set of arms, each arm has a rod attached to it, each rod is attached in its opposing end to the top portion of a hook, each hook is attached at a lower end to a bar, each bar is attached in a central point below the central hub making it the lower most point of the latching mechanism, the central point of the latching mechanism is attached to the central hub of the latching mechanism the method comprises the steps of:

• lowering the latching mechanism attached to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle into a frame structure attached to the outside of the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle,
• rotating the set of arms attached to the motor in the central hub of the latching mechanism,
• pushing the rod attached to each arm by the movement of the arms,
• rotating the hook around its attachment point to the bar by the pushing of the rod,
• latching the hook onto a circular bar of the frame structure,
• releasing the hook from the circular bar of the frame structure my rotating the arms in the opposite direction.