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This paper proposes integrated guidance and control for skid-to-turn cruciform canard-controlled interceptors for controlling impact time along with interception of non-maneuvering targets. This approach circumvents the possible difficulties associated with designing guidance and control subsystems independently. An interceptor control surface deflection for achieving appropriate lateral acceleration to achieve the guidance objectives are derived using sliding-mode control considering nonlinear engagement dynamics, thereby remaining effective even for engagement with large initial heading errors. The switching surface is chosen to be a function of time-to-go and its rate with different time-to-go estimates against stationary and moving targets. The time-to-go estimate for stationary target accounts for the heading angle errors, while that for constant velocity target provides an exact value. Unlike many of the existing strategies, the proposed approaches enable the interceptor to achieve an impact time, even less than its initial estimates. The efficacy of the proposed guidance strategies is validated through numerical simulations for various initial engagement geometries. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed integrated guidance and control approach is also compared with the separate design of guidance and control subsystems, and shown to be superior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a sliding mode control–based nonlinear guidance scheme for controlling both impact angle and impact time simultaneously is proposed. The problem of impact angle control is first transformed to that of controlling line-of-sight angle and its rate, while the requirement of impact time is achieved by tracking the desired time-to-go. The chosen time-to-go estimate accounts for the curvature required to meet the impact angle requirements toward the target interception. In order to satisfy both of these terminal constraints, the sliding surface is defined as a combination of impact time error and the variable pertaining to the errors in line-of-sight angle and its rate, with appropriate gains assigned to them. The interceptor first performs necessary maneuvers to meet the impact time requirements and then steers its course to achieve the target interception at a desired impact angle. The guidance law is initially derived using nonlinear engagement kinematics against stationary targets and then extended to cater to constant velocity targets using the concept of predicted interception point. Numerical simulations are performed to validate the efficacy of the proposed guidance scheme for various initial engagement geometries. The performance of the proposed guidance scheme is also compared with those of the existing guidance laws and shown to be superior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a guidance strategy that enables the interceptor to control its impact time against stationary targets, while also meeting the field-of-view (FOV) constraints of the on-board seeker. The guidance strategy, so designed, always keeps the target within its FOV using its seeker. A barrier Lyapunov function is used to meet the FOV constraints, and an approximate expression for the interceptor's lead angle is obtained analytically. This facilitates the computation, as well as control, of impact time. The proposed guidance consists of two stages, with the former stage being deviated pursuit, while during the latter stage, the deviation angle or lead angle decreases to zero. This, in turn, ensures a zero terminal lateral acceleration. Furthermore, through a cooperative selection of tuning parameters, simultaneous interception of the target by multiple interceptors (also called salvo) can be achieved. Simulations, that are run for different engagement scenarios and with varying tuning parameters, vindicate the efficacy of the proposed strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cooperative salvo guidance strategy using fixed finite-time consensus is proposed here. The consensus algorithm is based on sliding mode control. The cooperative salvo attack problem is transformed to a consensus problem over a cycle digraph. This aids in designing a guidance strategy through selection of heterogeneous gains. The proposed strategy guarantees convergence to a common impact time for all the interceptors, within a fixed time, from a wide range of initial heading angles. Subsequently, the guidance strategy is extended to cooperatively intercept a constant velocity target. The efficacy of the proposed algorithm is vindicated through simulations on both stationary and constant velocity targets. Numerical simulations are also performed on realistic missile models that account for aerodynamic parameter variations, yielding satisfactory performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a guidance strategy, which caters to both impact angle and impact time terminal constraints. This guidance scheme is based on switching between impact time and impact angle guidance laws. Unlike the existing impact time guidance laws, the proposed guidance strategy takes into account the curvature of the trajectory due to requirement of impact angle. The guidance law is derived using sliding mode control theory with the switching surface based on impact time error. The interceptor first corrects its course to nullify the impact time error and then aims to achieve interception with desired impact angle. In order to reduce transitions between the two guidance laws, a novel hysteresis loop is introduced in the switching conditions. The guidance law is initially designed for stationary targets, and later it is extended to constant velocity targets using the notion of predicted interception point. In order to validate the efficacy of the proposed guidance strategy, simulation results are presented with constant as well as realistic time-varying speed interceptor models for different engagement scenarios against stationary and constant velocity targets. The performance of the guidance law is evaluated under noisy measurements and the presence of system lag and its performance is compared with other existing guidance laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose predefined-time consensus-based cooperative guidance laws for a swarm of interceptors to simultaneously capture a target capable of executing various kinds of motions. Unlike leader-follower cooperative guidance techniques, the swarm of interceptors has no leader and each interceptor executes its own guidance command in a distributive fashion, thus obviating the residency of the mission over a single interceptor. We first design cooperative guidance commands subject to target's mobility, followed by the same when the target is stationary, and also account for interceptors' changing topologies. We further show through rigorous analysis that the proposed cooperative guidance laws guarantee consensus in the interceptors' time-to-go values within a predefined-time. The proposed design allows a feasible time of consensus in time-to-go to be set arbitrarily at will during the design regardless of the interceptors' initial time-to-go values, thereby ensuring a simultaneous target interception. We also demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed design via simulations for interceptors connected over static and dynamic networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes integrated guidance and control design to intercept a target, which may execute various motions, at a pre-specified time of interception. The problem is addressed considering nonlinear engagement kinematics and the interceptor is steered using the combined effects of canard as well as tail configurations (dual-controlled interceptors). Different formulations of time-to-go, without the restrictive assumption of interceptor's small heading angle, have been used in deriving the guidance commands, allowing the proposed strategy to remain effective over a wide range of impact time values. A weighted effort allocation scheme, in canard and tail deflections, has been proposed to generate the required lateral acceleration. The overall design uses sliding mode control owing to its simplicity of design, while a nonlinear finite-time disturbance observer is used to estimate the target's maneuver. Finally, simulations are presented for various target motions, and time-constrained interception with an impaired actuator is also shown, vindicating the efficacy of the proposed technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]