Formation Trajectory Planning of Fixed-Wing UAV Swarms

For the formation trajectory planning (FTP) problem of fixed-wing UAV swarms, this paper proposes an FTP method that integrates multiple formation transformations and formation maintenances. According to the maneuver characteristics of the fixed-wing UAV and the formation flight requirements, the FTP problem’s mathematical models are established, including the kinematic model, trajectory constraint, collision avoidance constraint, and formation constraint. Then, the formation flight process is modeled as the concatenation of multiple formation transformations and formation maintenances, and the FTP problem is formulated as a multi-phase optimal control problem. On these bases, a method for solving the FTP problem is proposed based on the Gauss Pseudospectral Method. The results of simulation and field experiments show that the proposed method can plan the formation trajectories of all UAVs that meet the relevant constraints and achieve the formation transformation and formation maintenance of UAV swarms.