Coordinated Standoff Tracking of a Ground Moving Target and the Phase Separation Problem

We extend existing results regarding the kinematics stability of the cooperative standoff tracking of a stationary target by a single UAV as well as a team of UAVs based on a guidance vector field. Furthermore, we examine the so called phase separation problem and by treating simultaneously the convergence toward the desired standoff radius, heading and angular difference between the tracking vehicles, we arrive at guidance laws that are globally asymptotically stable and at the same time reveal a tradeoff between overshoot and speed of convergence to the loitering circle. Simulations are performed to verify the results and demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed guidance laws.