Midcourse Guidance with Terminal Handover Constraint

This work addresses guiding a missile during the midcourse phase of flight. It is assumed the missile has the goal of arriving at a (possibly moving) target at a specified terminal flight path angle, while simultaneously optimizing an energy cost function. In general, the missile is assumed to have the entire flight time to meet the prescribed terminal set objective. This development is unique in that the missile is constrained to exert no control after a prespecified time-to-go is reached. This approach ensures the missile has obtained the desired terminal guidance handover basket. This approach can also be used in other scenarios where the desired flight path must be achieved prior to target acquisition, which may be useful in complex radar environments, and against highly maneuvering threats.