A study into advanced guidance laws using computational methods

Abstract

Effective guidance laws that are optimal for tactical air-to-air scenarios tend to improve the performance characteristics of the missile and increase the probability of a hit in combat. Proportional guidance is the current baseline algorithm for tactical missile guidance. Increases in computational capabilities now permit more complicated guidance laws to be implemented. This research focuses on two promising advanced guidance laws, comparing them to proportional navigation using simulation, with the kinematic boundary as the performance measure. Studies are also made of performance degradation in the presence of sensor noise. The three guidance laws, Proportional Navigation (PN), Augmented Proportional Navigation (APN) and Differential Geometry (DG), were each simulated against a non-maneuvering target and a maneuvering target. The theoretical missile engagement envelope (the kinematic boundary) is utilized as a simple and intuitive visual aid in comparing the effectiveness of each guidance law. Band-limited white noise is then introduced into the seeker system to determine the ability of the guidance law to deal with noise perturbations, in particular, to discover the level of noise tolerance for each guidance law. This research used a simulation model previously developed here at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). This simplified six degree of freedom (6DOF) model was used in a slightly modified form to: 1) verify earlier results obtained at NPS, 2) investigate an additional guidance law, the DG law, and 3) study the effects of noise on the robustness of the various guidance laws.