Modeling of Fixed Wing UAV and Flight control Computer Based Autopilot System Development for Integrated Simulation HILS Environment

Fixed-wing UAVs have long endurance and range capabilities compared to other aerial platforms. These advantages led fixed-wing UAVs to become a popular platform for reconnaissance missions in the military. In this research, we modeled fixed-wing UAVs, including the landing gear model and developed a guidance and control system for flight control computers to construct a HILS environment. We also developed an autopilot system that includes automated take-off, cruise, and landing control for UAVs. We also retrived the Aerodynamic coefficients an UAV using Datcom and AVL software and used them for 6 degrees of freedom modeling. The Flight control computer calculates guidance commands using the Carrot chasing guidance law after distinguishing the condition of the UAV based on 16 pre-defined flight modes and calculates control inputs using Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion (NDI) control scheme. We used RTNngine to integrate the Simulink model and flight control computer for HILS environment formulation.