Robust Control Law Development for a Hypersonic Cruise Aircraft

Systems Control Technology, Inc. is participating in the Air Force program entitled “Robust Control Law Development for Modern Aerospace Vehicles” (MAVRIC) as a subcontractor to Northrop Aircraft Division. The goal of this program is to apply state-of-the-art robust control law design methodologies to high-performance aircraft with significant modelling errors (uncertainties). The uncertainties which are being considered include structured, unstructured, and those due to linearization, gain scheduling, and model reduction. A model-following design technique developed under a previous Air Force study has been cast into an H¿ synthesis framework. The design approach has the potential for direct design of control laws which feature both robust stability and performance. Two vehicles are being considered in the MAVRIC program: a fighter aircraft with enhanced maneuverability and a hypervelocity flight vehicle. Control law development for the hypersonic vehicle will be discussed in this paper.