Assessment of Aerial Combat Game via Optimization-Based Receding Horizon Control

This paper focuses on modeling of air-to-air combat via optimization-based control and game-theoretic approach. The flatness property of the dynamical system is used to present aircraft dynamics in terms of specific variables and their derivatives that can be described via a set of parameterized curves. With the help of game theory, the combat between two aircraft is translated into an optimization problem in terms of these parameterized curves. The optimization problem is solved with a moving time horizon scheme to generate optimal strategies for aircraft in aerial combat. In this way, the algorithm produces optimal feasible strategies that meet all the given and dynamical constraints. The method is demonstrated with aerial combat between two UAVs. Two different case studies are analyzed to show and validate the method.