Sliding mode guidance law for a receiver UAV in the rendezvous phase of autonomous aerial refueling

Abstract

The rendezvous guidance problem between a receiver unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a virtual tanker was researched. In order to drive elevation angle and azimuth angle of the UAV to satisfy both constraints, two sliding mode guidance laws were designed to control them, respectively. The attitude angle commands were produced by the transformation relationships. The flight control system (FCS) was designed to control the UAV to track the virtual tanker. The FCS was divided into the attitude angles control system and the velocity control system. The attitude angles control system produced the desired fin deflections. The simulation results demonstrate that the designed sliding mode guidance laws and the FCS control the UAV to complete favourably the rendezvous process.