I've posted an idea I've had for a couple of years now. I'll post again. I don't think anyone is offering anything like it now, but I don't pretend to know everything available.

I understand that when drones go down in either tall corn or beans, they can be sometimes hard to spot precisely. My idea is a small weather type balloon that could be deployed either when signaled by pilot, or if the drone hits the ground hard enough. The balloon could be tethered with approximately 15-20' of heavy nylon cord. The balloon would make it easy to spot to retrieve. Or, in fact another drone could be rigged to latch onto that heavy cord & pick up the grounded drone & bring it back to the operators. It seems this could be built very lightweight and affordable. I've seen photos of some lifeboats being equipped with such balloon devices.

The idea is not to have the balloon lift the drone. That would take a good size balloon meaning a heavier non-paying load.

Why not?