Autopilot design for BTT missiles using receding horizon predictive control scheme

Receding horizon predictive control (RHPC) methodology is applied to the design of an autopilot for a bank-to-turn (BTT) missile. The main control objective is high tracking performance for guidance commands. The proposed RHPC-based autopilot consists of the RHPC and the design algorithm of future commands. The design algorithm of future commands determines future guidance commands required in the RHPC. It is based on the first-order approximation of the current guidance commands generated from the existing guidance law. The RHPC is designed for tracking control of pitch acceleration, yaw acceleration and roll rate. It is shown by computer simulation that the RHPC-based autopilot offers good tracking performance in 6 DOF environments, which results in low terminal miss distances even for maneuvering targets