Finite-Time Guidance and Control for Uncrewed Receiver Aircraft in Aerial Refueling Rendezvous

Abstract

This paper investigates a problem of autonomous aerial refueling point parallel rendezvous guidance and flight control subject to exogenous wind field disturbances. The tanker and uncrewed receiver aircraft approach the common refueling rendezvous point according to their respective flight plans, ultimately maintaining a fixed altitude and the same speed. According to the relative position of refueling target point and uncrewed receiver, a new continuous terminal sliding-mode guidance law combined with the prescribed performance control theory is designed under the end angle and speed constraints. Meanwhile, a finite-time observer is proposed to estimate the parameter uncertainties and wake vortex disturbances during refueling rendezvous. Based on the estimated information, a backstepping double-integral sliding-mode controller is developed for the uncrewed receiver flight control system. In the process of the guidance and flight control system, the integral variable is introduced to improve the steady-state performance. The designed guidance and control system can enable the uncrewed receiver to achieve the refueling rendezvous task within finite time and improve the efficiency of uncrewed aerial refueling. Comparative numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed guidance and control scheme.