Dynamics and autopilot design for endoatmospheric interceptors with dual control systems

The nonlinear system model of an endoatmospheric missile whose attitude is controlled by tail fins and reaction jets is presented. By choosing the divert accelerations and rotational rates as output variables, the internal dynamics of the nonlinear system are derived and are proved to be bounded under a bounded input. The blending principle of the reaction jets and tail fins is addressed to ensure that the normal acceleration is principally maintained by angle-of-attack or sideslip angle. An autopilot is designed by using the feedback linearization technique. Results of a numerical simulation of an autopilot design example show the effectiveness of the proposed blending principle and the autopilot design.