# Soft Actor-Critic Deep Reinforcement Learning for Fault Tolerant Flight Control

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.09262 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.09262/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 12 of its 35 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 16 Feb 2022.

## Builds on (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [Proximal Policy Optimization Algorithms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.06347/) (2017)
- [Layer Normalization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1607.06450/) (2016)
- [Soft Actor-Critic: Off-Policy Maximum Entropy Deep Reinforcement Learning with a Stochastic Actor](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.01290/) (2018)
- [Continuous control with deep reinforcement learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1509.02971/) (2015)
- [Playing Atari with Deep Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1312.5602/) (2013)
- [Addressing Function Approximation Error in Actor-Critic Methods](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.09477/) (2018)
- [Soft Actor-Critic Algorithms and Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.05905/) (2018)
- [An overview of gradient descent optimization algorithms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1609.04747/) (2016)
- [Control of a Quadrotor with Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.05110/) (2017)
- [Reinforcement Learning for UAV Attitude Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.04154/) (2018)
- [Deep Reinforcement Learning Attitude Control of Fixed-Wing UAVs Using Proximal Policy Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.05478/) (2019)
- [Using Soft Actor-Critic for Low-Level UAV Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.02293/) (2020)

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Transformer-Based Fault-Tolerant Control for Fixed-Wing UAVs Using Knowledge Distillation and In-Context Adaptation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.02975/) (2024)
- [Deep deterministic policy gradient with symmetric data augmentation for lateral attitude tracking control of a fixed-wing aircraft](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.11077/) (2024)
- [Temporally smoothed incremental model-based heuristic dynamic programming for command-filtered cascaded online learning flight control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.04346/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Fault-tolerant flight control faces challenges, as developing a model-based controller for each unexpected failure is unrealistic, and online learning methods can handle limited system complexity due to their low sample efficiency. In this research, a model-free coupled-dynamics flight controller for a jet aircraft able to withstand multiple failure types is proposed. An offline trained cascaded Soft Actor-Critic Deep Reinforcement Learning controller is successful on highly coupled maneuvers, including a coordinated 40 degree bank climbing turn with a normalized Mean Absolute Error of 2.64%. The controller is robust to six failure cases, including the rudder jammed at -15 deg, the aileron effectiveness reduced by 70%, a structural failure, icing and a backward c.g. shift as the response is stable and the climbing turn is completed successfully. Robustness to biased sensor noise, atmospheric disturbances, and to varying initial flight conditions and reference signal shapes is also demonstrated.