Nonlinear Guidance of Aircraft Formations

Nonlinear formation flight control algorithm for a pair of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is proposed. The leader-follower approach to formation flight is adopted. The leader maintains a prescribed trajectory while the follower is controlled to track and maintain a fixed relative distance from its leader. Two nonlinear guidance algorithms, Lyapunov and State Dependent Ricatti Equation, (SDRE) based are proposed for the relative guidance of the follower UAV. The resulting formation control systems are tested through simulations and their effectiveness are demonstrated. © 2015, E-flow American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). All rights reserved