Coverage-based optimal cooperative guidance strategy for multiple missiles against maneuverability-superior targets

For the problem of exo-atmospheric interception, a coverage-based optimal cooperative guidance strategy is developed for multiple inferior missiles against a maneuverability-superior target. First, the cooperative interception problem is transformed into a coverage problem of the target’s evasion capability. Leveraging the capture region theory of biased proportional navigation, the maneuvering coverage region of the interceptor relative to the target under nonlinear conditions is derived. This coverage region focuses on covering the target’s maneuverability range rather than its lateral position, effectively avoiding errors induced by linearization assumptions. Furthermore, by optimizing the energy consumption of all interceptors, an optimal cooperative guidance problem under coverage constraints is formulated. The Lagrange multiplier method is employed to analytically solve for the real-time guidance commands for each interceptor, ensuring complete coverage of the target’s maneuverability range. Numerical simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed strategy.