Research Article

A Model Reference Adaptive Control Approach to Terrain Following Flight Control System

Volume: 13 Number: 2 April 30, 2025
EN TR

A Model Reference Adaptive Control Approach to Terrain Following Flight Control System

Abstract

Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) Terrain Following (TF) mode allows military aircraft to fly at a certain altitude above ground level at a low altitude. TF mode reduces the probability of aircraft detection by enemy airborne radars. TF mode minimizes the effort the pilot spends to control the aircraft and allows the pilot to focus on other tasks or missions. In this study, the F-16 nonlinear model is linearized around a selected equilibrium point. The state variables of the linear model are decomposed into state space matrices on the lateral and longitudinal axes. Three different control methods, namely PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative), LQR (Linear Quadratic Regulator), and MRAC (Model Reference Adaptive Control), are used. The results show that the designed algorithms can effectively control the aircraft's altitude, speed, pitch angle, angle of attack, and pitch rate on the longitudinal axis and the aircraft flies in accordance with the terrain profile. Finally, it is observed that MRAC outperforms PID and LQR methods due to its adaptive capability.

Keywords

MRAC, LQR, PID, Terrain Following, AFCS, F-16

References

  1. [1] A. Bongers and J. L. Torres, “Technological change in U.S. jet fighter aircraft,” Res Policy, vol. 43, no. 9, pp. 1570–1581, Nov. 2014.
  2. [2] I. Khademi, B. Maleki, and A. Nasseri Mood, “Optimal three dimensional Terrain Following/Terrain Avoidance for aircraft using direct transcription method,” in 2011 19th Mediterranean Conference on Control & Automation (MED), Corfu, Greece, Jun. 2011, pp. 254–258.
  3. [3] P. Lu and B. L. Pierson, “Optimal Aircraft Terrain Following Analysis and Trajectory Generation,” Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 555–560, 1995.
  4. [4] V. H. Cheng and B. Sridhar, “Technologies for Automating Rotorcraft Nap-of-the-Earth Flight,” Journal of the American Helicopter Society, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 78–87, 1993.
  5. [5] E. N. Johnson and J. G. Mooney, “A Comparison of Automatic Nap-of-the-earth Guidance Strategies for Helicopters,” J Field Robot, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 637–653, 2014.
  6. [6] R. Strenzke, J. Uhrmann, A. Benzler, F. Maiwald, A. Rauschert, and A. Schulte, “Managing Cockpit Crew Excess Task Load in Military Manned-Unmanned Teaming Missions by Dual-Mode Cognitive Automation Approaches,” in AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, Portland, OR, USA, Aug. 2011, p. 6237.
  7. [7] F. Barfield, J. Probert, and D. Browning, “All Terrain Ground Collision Avoidance and Maneuvering Terrain Following for Automated Low Level Night Attack,” IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 40–47, 1993.
  8. [8] T. Fleck, “Flight Testing of the Autopilot and Terrain Following Radar System in the Tornado Aircraft,” in AIAA 2nd Flight Testing Conference, Las Vegas, NV, USA., Nov. 1983, p. 2770.
  9. [9] R. F. Whitbeck and J. Wolkovitch, “Optimal Terrain Following Feedback Control for Advanced Cruise Missiles,” 1982.
  10. [10] D. Qu, D. Yu, J. Cheng, and B. Lu, “On Terrain Following System with Fuzzy-PID Controller,” in IEEE Chinese Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, Yantai, China, Aug. 2014, pp. 497–501.
APA
İnan, B., & Aliskan, İ. (2025). A Model Reference Adaptive Control Approach to Terrain Following Flight Control System. Duzce University Journal of Science and Technology, 13(2), 770-789. https://doi.org/10.29130/dubited.1595224
AMA
1.İnan B, Aliskan İ. A Model Reference Adaptive Control Approach to Terrain Following Flight Control System. DUBİTED. 2025;13(2):770-789. doi:10.29130/dubited.1595224
Chicago
İnan, Berk, and İbrahim Aliskan. 2025. “A Model Reference Adaptive Control Approach to Terrain Following Flight Control System”. Duzce University Journal of Science and Technology 13 (2): 770-89. https://doi.org/10.29130/dubited.1595224.
EndNote
İnan B, Aliskan İ (April 1, 2025) A Model Reference Adaptive Control Approach to Terrain Following Flight Control System. Duzce University Journal of Science and Technology 13 2 770–789.
IEEE
[1]B. İnan and İ. Aliskan, “A Model Reference Adaptive Control Approach to Terrain Following Flight Control System”, DUBİTED, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 770–789, Apr. 2025, doi: 10.29130/dubited.1595224.
ISNAD
İnan, Berk - Aliskan, İbrahim. “A Model Reference Adaptive Control Approach to Terrain Following Flight Control System”. Duzce University Journal of Science and Technology 13/2 (April 1, 2025): 770-789. https://doi.org/10.29130/dubited.1595224.
JAMA
1.İnan B, Aliskan İ. A Model Reference Adaptive Control Approach to Terrain Following Flight Control System. DUBİTED. 2025;13:770–789.
MLA
İnan, Berk, and İbrahim Aliskan. “A Model Reference Adaptive Control Approach to Terrain Following Flight Control System”. Duzce University Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 13, no. 2, Apr. 2025, pp. 770-89, doi:10.29130/dubited.1595224.
Vancouver
1.Berk İnan, İbrahim Aliskan. A Model Reference Adaptive Control Approach to Terrain Following Flight Control System. DUBİTED. 2025 Apr. 1;13(2):770-89. doi:10.29130/dubited.1595224