Complex Aircraft Maneuvering using Reinforcement-Learning-Augmented Sliding Mode-Based Control
Learning-based controllers leverage nonlinear couplings and enhance transients but seldom offer guarantees under tight input constraints. Robust feedback like sliding-mode control (SMC) provides these guarantees but is conservative in isolation. This paper creates a learning-augmented framework where a deep reinforcement learning policy produces learned nominal maneuvering commands and an SMC law imposes actuator limits, bounds learned authority and guarantees robustness. The policy is modeled as a matched, bounded input, and Lyapunov-based conditions link SMC gains to the nominal compensation mismatch, guaranteeing stability under saturation. This formulation is applicable to nonlinear, underactuated plants with hard constraints. To illustrate the methodology, the method is applied to a six-degree-of-freedom aircraft model and compared with Reinforcement Learning and isolated SMC. Simulation results show that the hybrid controller improves transient behavior and reduces control oscillations compared to standalone RL and SMC controllers. A Monte Carlo evaluation over 1000 randomized initial flight conditions further confirms that the controller consistently converges to the target attitude with small terminal tracking error, demonstrating robustness to variation in the initial-condition envelope. Even using it with partially trained policies, SMC component of the control stabilizes transients, whereas fully trained policies provide faster convergence, reduced constraint violations, and robustness. These results illustrate that learning-augmented control offers superior performance with robustness guarantees under tight input constraints.