Line-of-Sight Guidance Laws for Formation Flight

Two-dimensional formation guidance laws for formation flight using only line-of-sight angle information are addressed. The main idea is to use the line-of-sight angles to two nearby vehicles to maintain the formation position of the current vehicle. Such a formation guidance law is useful because measurement of the line-of-sight angles does not require data communication between the vehicles. We propose two methods of using the line-of-sight angle information for formation guidance: the angle information is used to control the flight-path angle and the velocity of the formation vehicle. Approach guidance and formation guidance of the two leading vehicles are also proposed. Stability of the proposed formation guidance laws is analyzed by using the Jacobian at the equilibrium point. Multiple-vehicle formation flight is simulated to verify the guidance laws proposed.