Side-slip approach-based control method for fixed-wing drone relays under steady wind conditions

In this article, a side-slip approach-based control method is proposed for a fixed-wing drone relay (FDR) under steady wind conditions. The FDR is tasked with a flight mission while serving as a mobile relay to support data transmission between two ground users. First, an optimal course angle is obtained through propagation performance optimization, which yields an optimized flight route. Under wind conditions, the FDR inevitably experiences lateral forces that cause a yawed flight state, thereby degrading the propagation performance. To address this issue, a side-slip approach-based control method is proposed to regulate the FDR’s flight attitude, including its air velocity vector, side-slip angle and roll angle. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method enables the FDR to accurately track the optimized flight route, thereby achieving the optimal propagation performance.