Robust Nonlinear Autopilot Designs for HAVE DASH II Missiles

The nonlinearity and unceitainty inherent in the HAVE DASH II missile's dynamics have been a great challenge to the autopilot design that is required to have satisfactory performance for all flight conditions in probable engagements. Several advanced robust nonlinear approaches, namely, inversion-based control laws, analytical gain scheduling, and nonlinear servo-regulator are proposed to design a high performance autopilot. The unique features of these approaches include that (1) they incorporate the nonlinear dynamics due to severe kinematic and inertial coupling as well as aerodynamics into the design process; (2) they furnish robust scheme to acount for model uncertainties due to aerodynamics and bending motion, etc; and (3) they provide adaptive mechanism to handle parameter variations of the mass and inertia, etc. Each of these features works to enhance the performance of HAVE DASH II missiles. The deliverables include a comprehensive nonlinear design/analysis tool together with detailed documentation, and training courses.