This paper addresses the attitude control challenge of hypersonic morphing vehicles (HMVs) with uncertainties and actuator saturation. The primary contribution of this work lies in achieving a predefined settling time while ensuring robust control performance under morphing effects, actuator saturation and disturbances. Firstly, a control-oriented model is established based on the dynamics of HMVs. Subsequently, a nonsingular multivariable sliding mode manifold, utilising a switching function, is designed to attain predefined-time convergence and prevent singularity issues. A disturbance observer with an adaptive law is developed to precisely and swiftly estimate uncertainties and error states, while a predefined-time anti-saturation compensator is implemented to alleviate actuator saturation. Furthermore, closed-loop stability is guaranteed through rigorous Lyapunov synthesis. Extensive numerical simulations confirm the algorithm’s superiority in terms of control effectiveness.
