Robust optimization of aircraft weapon delivery trajectory using probability collectives and meta-modeling

Conventional trajectory optimization techniques have been challenged by their inability to handle threats with irregular shapes and the tendency to be sensitive to control variations of aircraft. Aiming to overcome these difficulties, this paper presents an alternative approach for trajectory optimization, where the problem is formulated into a parametric optimization of the maneuver variables under a tactics template framework. To reduce the size of the problem, global sensitivity analysis (GSA) is performed to identify the less-influential maneuver variables. The probability collectives (PC) algorithm, which is well-suited to discrete and discontinuous optimization, is applied to solve the trajectory optimization problem. The robustness of the trajectory is assessed through multiple sampling around the chosen values of the maneuver variables. Meta-models based on radius basis function (RBF) are created for evaluations of the means and deviations of the problem objectives and constraints. To guarantee the approximation accuracy, the meta-models are adaptively updated during optimization. The proposed approach is demonstrated on a typical air-ground attack mission scenario. Results reveal that the proposed approach is capable of generating robust and optimal trajectories with both accuracy and efficiency.