The strategy of formation flying for a cluster of unmanned aerial vehicles using pure position-based passive localization

In this paper, a model for adjusting the formation of UAVs with variable transmission sources is proposed. The UAVs FY00 and FY01, whose positions are accurately determined, always perform the task of signal transmission. A position adjust- ment strategy based on OODA coupled interaction among UAVs is proposed. A signal transmission and reception adjustment sequence T is set. During each adjustment, the receiving UAV can evaluate a point in the neighborhood based on a variable step-size discrete neighborhood search algorithm. The evaluation function solely relies on the received direction angle and identification information. Finally, the positions are obtained after multiple adjustments. Then, a genetic algorithm is used to optimize the signal transmission and reception adjustment sequence. The optimal sequence is obtained by minimizing the sum of squares of residuals between the positions after multiple adjustments and the desired positions. This yields the optimal adjustment strategy for the UAV formation.