A 3D nonlinear guidance law with impact terminal angle constraints

Generalized model predictive static programming (G-MPSP) technique is presented in this paper in the continuous time framework for rapidly solving a class of 3D nonlinear optimal control problems with hard terminal constraints. A key feature of the technique is backward propagation of a small-dimensional weight matrix dynamics, using which the control history got updated. It leads to a static optimization problem and it is the reason for its high computational efficiency. Various maneuvering ground targets is considered in the simulation studies. The simulation results show that impact angle constraints are met in addition to achieving near zero miss distance and the variation in the lateral acceleration history is quite smooth throughout the engagement.