Current status and prospects of terminal guidance laws for intercepting hypersonic vehicles in near space: a review

The unique performance advantages of hypersonic vehicles represent a critical challenge for existing defense systems. To facilitate defensive operations against hypersonic vehicles in near space, this paper systematically discusses both the advantages of these vehicles and the difficulties in intercepting them. Focusing on the state-of-the-art terminal guidance laws for intercepting hypersonic vehicles in near space, we examine research progress in the area of single- and multi-interceptor cooperative guidance laws and summarize their advantages and disadvantages. We also highlight future research directions for developing an effective terminal guidance law for multi-interceptor cooperative interception of hypersonic vehicles, based on four aspects: the information domain, space domain, physical domain, and effect-cost ratio. The findings provide a reference for further research into near-space interceptor terminal guidance technologies.