Bounded-acceleration impact time control guidance based on look-angle shaping.

Area of Science:

• Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC)
• Aerospace Engineering
• Robotics

Background:

• Accurate impact time control is crucial for modern interception missions, including cooperative engagements.
• Existing guidance schemes often struggle with disturbances and input constraints, limiting terminal accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel guidance scheme for precise impact time control with bounded normal acceleration.
• To ensure accurate interception of stationary and moving targets under various conditions.

Main Methods:

• A look-angle profile, based on a hyperbolic tangent function of range-to-go, is used for impact timing.
• A numerical algorithm estimates and regulates time-to-go online, adapting to disturbances.
• A second-order sliding mode controller with bounded integral action enforces profile tracking under input constraints.

Main Results:

• The proposed scheme achieves effective impact time control.
• Simulations demonstrate high terminal accuracy against both stationary and moving targets.
• The method is suitable for cooperative interception missions.

Conclusions:

• The novel guidance scheme provides a robust and accurate solution for impact time control.
• The use of a look-angle profile and adaptive sliding mode control effectively manages disturbances and constraints.
• This approach enhances the feasibility of cooperative interception missions requiring precise timing.