Consecutive tracking for ballistic missile based on bearings-only during boost phase

This paper proposes a modified centralized shifted Rayleigh filter (MCSRF) algorithm for tracking boost phase of ballistic missile (BM) trajectory with a highly nonlinear dynamical model based on bearings-only. This paper contributes three folds. Firstly, the mathematical model of an MCSRF for multiple passive sensors is derived. Then, minimum entropy based one-dimensional optimization search to adaptively adjust the probability of the different filters for real time state estimation is deployed. Finally, the unscented transform (UT) is introduced to resolve the asymmetric state estimation problem. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can consecutively track the BM precisely during the boost phase. In comparison with the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) algorithm, the proposed algorithm effectively reduces the tracking position and velocity root mean square (RMS) errors, which will make more sense for early precision interception.