Identifier-Predictor-Corrector Guidance against a homing target

This paper investigates the guidance problem of intercepting a homing target and proposes an Identifier-Predictor-Corrector Guidance (IPCG) scheme. By normalizing the target-aim time-to-go, the acceleration profile of the homing target can be well approximated as a power series with its coefficients determinable by the identification technique. This enables the analytical formulation of the target’s future maneuver and the accurate prediction of the interceptor’s Zero-Effort-Miss (ZEM). Then an optimal guidance law is derived as a corrector to nullify the ZEM with minimum control effort. The main novelty of the proposed scheme lies in the integration of a general identifier to enable accurate prediction of the target’s future acceleration. Hence, the proposed optimal law can perform Goldilocks correction, which requires lower acceleration than the existing methods. Theoretical and numerical analyses demonstrate that the proposed general identifier can approximate the future acceleration of various homing guidance laws with acceptable accuracy. Comparative simulations evaluate the proposed IPCG against existing methods.