On Maneuverability of Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Formations

The problem of determining feasible maneuver envelope in multi-unmanned aerial vehicle (multi-UAV) formations is considered. In the leader-follower framework, an analysis is carried out relating the three fundamental physical constraints of follower UAVs, namely, bank angle, stalling speed, and maximum speed, to the leader's maneuver. The closed-form relationships are further analyzed in detail to determine the set of follower UAVs that characterize the envelope boundary and their dependency on the maneuver. The maneuver envelope for a general multiple UAV formation is expressed in the turn radius-speed space of the leader, and validation studies are considered for various formation sizes and geometries. As a first, the work presents a complete and analytic solution to the problem considering arbitrary formation configuration and accounting for all the fundamental fixed-wing UAV physical constraints.