Novel L1 Adaptive Control Methodology for Aerial Refueling with Guaranteed Transient Performance

Autonomous aerial refueling autopilot design is addressed in this paper using a novel C 1 neural-network-based adaptive control approach, which is capable of accommodating trailing-vortex-induced uncertainties and uncertainties in control effectiveness. The main advantage of the new approach is its ability of fast adaptation that leads to uniform transient performance for the system's signals, both inputs and outputs, simultaneously, with guaranteed performance specifications. Simulation results verify the benefit of this new approach.