In-flight mechanic
In a few levels there are little tank-like units that stay stationary. These are the units that shoot out the lightning and fix structures. They cannot move on their own, but you can pick them up and place them anywhere and they will slowly fix any nearby units or structures. If you pick one up and fly around with it, whenever you take on damage it will fix your ship. Be careful though, because any enemies that may shoot at you from below could hit it, and they cannot fix themselves. However, sometimes it better to leave them near your base so they will fix things as it's needed.

In-flight artillery
If you need a little more firepower for your ship, search for a tank and pick it up. As long as you are holding the tank, it will act like a rotating turret for your ship and fire at any enemy units that get within its sight. The tank's cannons will rotate 360 degrees so it can attack enemies in any direction. This is very useful if you do not want to deal with having to make constant maneuvers to avoid being hit by an enemy that is tailing you.