Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Guidance Law with Target Input Estimation

Abstract

This paper presents a look angle-based nonlinear model predictive control guidance (MPCG) method for missiles equipped with strapdown seekers. Conventional proportional navigation guidance (PNG) requires line-of-sight (LOS) rate measurements, which are not directly available in strapdown systems. MPCG instead employs look angles and their derivatives as state variables, eliminating body-rate coupling and associated parasitic feedback. The guidance problem is formulated as a continuous-time optimal control problem (OCP), discretized via the Legendre-Gauss-Radau pseudo-spectral method (LGRPM), and solved as a nonlinear program (NLP) incorporating explicit field-of-view (FOV) and acceleration constraints. Target acceleration at the first step of the prediction horizon is estimated using an adaptive extended Kalman filter (AEKF) integrated with an interacting multiple model (IMM) framework. Simulation results under single-maneuver scenarios, which include pitch and yaw plane weaving as well as barrel-roll maneuvers, demonstrate that MPCG achieves reliable interception while satisfying operational constraints, outperforming pure PNG (PPNG) in stability and resilience. This indicates that MPCG offers a practical and effective solution for modern missile guidance systems constrained by seeker measurement limitations.