Game-Theoretic Homing Missile Guidance with Autopilot Lag

A new guidance law that considers the lag due to the autopilot for homing missiles is proposed based on the game theory. In the linear-quadratic pursuit-evasion game, the pursuer (interceptor) wishes to minimize the terminal miss whereas the evader (target) wishes to maximize it. Therefore, the interceptor strategy is determined based on the anticipated worst possible target strategy. When the interceptor has a lag, it is usually included directly in the system dynamics. However, since the system dynamics are known by both players, the target strategy is determined knowing the interceptor’s lag. Then, the target can maneuver and produce large terminal miss when the time-to-go is small. Therefore, the interceptor strategy derived against this target strategy is inefiective and not realistic. Instead, a new approach is proposed where the interceptor strategy is determined in the presence of the interceptor’s lag against a target strategy that is determined without knowing the interceptor’s lag. This provides a more efiective and realistic game-theoretic guidance law that considers the autopilot lag for homing missiles.