Finite-time cooperative guidance laws for multiple missiles with acceleration saturation constraints

The problem of cooperative guidance of multiple missiles attacking a stationary target, which can be achieved by consensus of the times-to-go is illustrated in this study. First, the finite-time cooperative guidance (FTCG) law is put forwarded to realise rapid and precise consensus of the times-to-go of all the missiles. Then, the FTCG law is modified to accommodate the condition in the presence of acceleration saturation constraint, and global ultimately finite-time consensus of times-to-go is also guaranteed. Finally, in order to adapt the realistic situation that each missile can only employ neighbour-to-neighbour communication, the distributed FTCG law is proposed. This guidance law adopts the sequential method, and can also cope with acceleration saturation constraint. The simulation results based on current control scheme and the comparison with the previous method demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed laws.