Active anti-disturbance autonomous aerial refueling control with integrated direct lift

Purpose This paper aims to address the problem of precise tracking control during the docking phase of probe-and-drogue autonomous aerial refueling. Considering external disturbances such as the tanker vortices and atmospheric turbulence, a docking control strategy is proposed to achieve accurate and rapid position and attitude regulation of the receiver aircraft. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes an integrated direct lift control (IDLC) strategy based on active anti-disturbance control (AADC). The architecture consists of three subsystems: an attitude control subsystem, an IDLC subsystem, and a speed control subsystem. To effectively estimate and compensate for external disturbances, an improved nonlinear extended state observer (NLESO) is incorporated into the AADC framework. Findings Both the Lyapunov method and simulations demonstrate that the IDLC based on AADC enables precise tracking of the probe toward the drogue center, even in the presence of external disturbances. Originality/value IDLC strategy is introduced to improve the longitudinal trajectory response and tracking accuracy of the receiver during the docking phase. To enhance robustness against external disturbances, an active disturbance rejection controller with an improved NLESO is developed.