Laser communication has attracted significant attention in the communications field due to its advantages, such as high bandwidth, strong anti-interference capability, and low probability of interception. With the growing demands for telemetry and data transmission of unmanned aerial platforms, the development of laser communication links for non-orbital platforms has become an urgent and critical need. Unlike satellite-based laser communications, non-orbital platforms face unique challenges, including trajectory uncertainty, rapid and unpredictable attitude changes, and highly complex electromagnetic environments. These factors impose more stringent requirements on the rapid establishment of laser communication links. In response to these challenges, we propose a novel dynamic aiming correction method that integrates directional microwave measurement with particle filtering. By utilizing directional microwave beams to measure relative positional changes across platforms, the method effectively overcomes the limitations of absolute spatial positioning systems. It significantly reduces the field of uncertainty (FoU), thus shortening the scanning coverage time. Moreover, it demonstrates strong adaptability in conditions characterized by electromagnetic interference and navigation denial, which are frequently encountered in practical scenarios.

To rapidly establish laser communication links between unmanned aerial platforms, we propose a dynamic correction method that fuses directional microwave pointing measurements with particle filtering. First, we analyze the influence of inertial navigation position errors on the acquisition scanning coverage time to determine the FoU requirements for non-orbital laser link establishment. Then, we construct a flight dynamics model and a directional microwave pointing measurement model. Based on a particle filter iterative algorithm with a particle weight resampling mechanism, the method effectively reduces the acquisition scanning coverage area under non-orbital and complex electromagnetic conditions. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated through simulation-based equivalent experiments, showing significantly reduced scanning coverage times in both formation and cross-maneuvering flight scenarios. Furthermore, a maritime field experiment, in which one terminal is deployed on a sea-based test vessel and the other mounted on a six-degree-of-freedom turntable at the ground station, confirms the effectiveness and robustness of the method, providing a reliable foundation for the engineering application of laser communication between non-orbital platforms.

Simulation-based equivalent experiments are conducted to compare the performance of three approaches: relying solely on inertial navigation, direct directional microwave measurement, and the proposed particle-filter-based dynamic aiming correction. The results show that the acquisition scanning coverage time is 86 s when relying solely on inertial navigation (Fig. 1), and 197 s when using direct directional microwave measurement without filtering. In contrast, the proposed method reduces the acquisition scanning coverage time to 10 s in the formation flight scenario (Fig. 4) and 16 s in the cross-maneuvering flight scenario (Fig. 5), and demonstrates insensitivity to link distance variations (Fig. 5), indicating superior efficiency and robustness. A field experiment conducted over a 25 km sea path measured an average acquisition time of 12 s with a standard deviation of 1.5 s (Fig. 6). The maritime terminal utilized the vessel’s motion and engine-induced vibrations to emulate the complex dynamics of aerial platforms in flight, while the ground-based terminal emulated corresponding motion states via the turntable. This setup realistically simulated the non-orbital dynamic conditions and generated critical data supporting the validation of the proposed dynamic aiming correction method. This study aims to address the challenges of establishing laser communication links for non-orbital platforms in complex environments. Analysis results indicate that, compared with all-optical acquisition methods, the proposed approach supports communication requirements over a broader airspace. Furthermore, in contrast to traditional methods that rely on high-precision global positioning system / inertial navigation system (GPS/INS), the proposed method achieves shorter acquisition times and greater robustness without the need for satellite navigation assistance.

We demonstrate that the proposed particle filter-based dynamic aiming correction method significantly improves laser link establishment efficiency in both formation and cross-maneuvering flight scenarios. Compared with methods relying solely on inertial navigation, the acquisition scanning coverage efficiencies are improved by factors of 8.6 and 5.4, respectively; compared with direct directional microwave measurement, the improvments are by factors of 19.7 and 12.3. In the 25 km maritime laser link establishment experiment, the method achieved an average acquisition time of 12 s, consistent with simulation analysis results. Moreover, the acquisition time is insensitive to variations in link distance, demonstrating excellent performance and robustness. The proposed method exhibits low dependency on inertial navigation accuracy, microwave communication stability, and satellite navigation. It is even capable of independently completing the acquisition task under complex electromagnetic conditions, thus meeting the engineering requirements for rapid laser link establishment between non-orbital platforms.