Hierarchical Distributed Fixed-Wing Close Formation Management and Control with Erratic UAV Failure

Close formation flight of UAVs under erratic conditions enhances collaborative defense and concentrated attacks, yielding air superiority and offensive advantages that present significant threats to adversarial air defense systems. This paper investigates a close formation management and control resolution for fixed-wing UAVs with erratic UAV failure, which has three contributions: Initially, a hierarchical distributed close formation control framework is designed, markedly improving robustness and adaptability compared to conventional centralized leader-follower paradims. Then, a formation management strategy based on Dynamic Spanning Tree (DST) is proposed, to maintain formation density without considering formation shape. Finally, an Adaptive Velocity Tracking (AVT) controller with a roll maneuver adjuster is developed, allowing the close formation to flexibly respond to maneuvering tasks. Validated by UAV swarm simulation with unpredictable node failure, the proposed method meets basic requirements for fixed-wing close formation flight, confirming its feasibility and practicality.