New Missile Guidance and Control Technology [panel disc. Introduction]

Summary form only given. It is evident that the performance of the present-day missile systems may be seriously degraded in engagements against targets such as the contemporary and the near future high-performance fighters. Hence, the use of classical guidance and control techniques in designing missile systems may not be adequate in defeating these highly maneuvering targets. It is, therefore, essential that advanced control techniques be applied to missile guidance and control systems for improved missile performance. With the recent miniaturization of digital hardware, computation of these new techniques is now possible aboard a small missile. In this new missile guidance and control approach, target tracking is accomplished through estimation of target behavior so that an optimal trajectory can be generated through missile guidance, and subsequently an effective strike with minimum miss distance can be accomplished by the missile autopilot without consuming excessively large or costly force in surging. In the panel discussion, we will explore avenues of application of modern guidance and control concepts to tactical missiles to accomplish the above objective. We will address innovative applications of modern control theory such as optimal control, stochastic control, adaptive control, and estimation theory to the design of missile systems. Topics to be covered will include those presented by the authors in Session FA7-Missile Guidance and Control Systems. These topics are: missile aerodynamic and performance relationships, fast homing guidance using line-ofsight reconstruction, maneuvering target tracking, optimal linear and nonlinear BTT guidance, and digital autopilot design. The panel discussion will be co-chaired by Harold L. Pastrick of Control Dynamics Company, Huntsville, Alabama, USA, and William H. Gilbert of Martin Marietta Corporation, Orlando, Florida, USA.