Field-of-view limited guidance with impact angle constraint and feasibility analysis

Abstract A look angle shaping guidance law with impact angle and seeker's field-of-view (FOV) constraints considering the time-varying speed is proposed. A look angle profile with respect to the relative range is first constructed as a cubic polynomial. The desired impact angle and the maximum look angle are expressed as functions of a parameter in the look angle profile. The impact angle constraint under limited FOV is achieved by solving this parameter with boundary conditions. Moreover, the feasible region of the desired impact angle is derived to ensure seeker's lock-on condition. By combining the first order look angle dynamics and the reference look angle profile, the impact angle control guidance (IACG) law with FOV constraint is obtained. The proposed guidance law is derived without relying on the linearized engagement kinematics, switching logic, constant speed assumption, and the LOS rate information during the guidance process. Moreover, the proposed guidance technique is helpful for user/designers to select feasible impact angle constraints in advance without tuning parameters. Finally, numerical simulations under a realistic model are performed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed guidance law.