Integrated guidance-autopilot approach for civil autonomous aerial refueling

Integrated Guidance-Autopilot design for autonomous mid-air rendezvous for the purpose of civil aerial refueling using Boom-Receptacle system is addressed here. The objective of the Tanker aircraft is to position itself in a predetermined location relative to the Receiver which maintains straight and level flight. The problem is formulated such that the approach kinematics is coupled with the Tanker dynamics in an integrative manner. Inspired by intercept problems, a linear quadratic optimal control problem with terminal approach angle constraint is posed and solved. Performance is evaluated via simulations.