Two stage architecture for navigating multiple guided weapons into a widespread target

Cooperative control of multiple unmanned vehicles is an attractive and challenging problem which has drawn considerable attention in the recent past. This paper introduces a scalable and decentralized control algorithm for airborne guided weapon system, which aggregates the weapons into a given shape while reaching the surface. The proposed architecture is based on a two stage controller which uses artificial forces to navigate the weapons into the desired geographical area bounded by a simple closed contour and evenly distribute them inside the desired area. The theoretical analysis of the proposed controller describes the motion of the weapon system and derives the conditions for stability and convergence. Moreover, a lower bound for the release height was obtained which guarantees convergence of the complete weapon system into the target area, minimizing collateral damages. The theoretical assertions were verified using computer simulation case studies in which the proposed weapon system was tested under ideal conditions as well as in a realistic scenario. ©2008 IEEE.