TheExoatmospheric Kill Vehicle(EKV) is theRaytheon-manufactured interceptor component with subcontractorAerojetof the U.S.Ground-Based Midcourse Defense(GMD), part of the largerNational Missile Defensesystem.
The EKV is boosted to an intercept trajectory by a boost vehicle (missile), where it separates from the boost vehicle and autonomously collides with an incoming warhead.
The EKV is launched by theGround-Based Interceptor(GBI) missile, thelaunch vehicleof the GMD system. The EKV's own rockets and fuel are for corrections in the trajectory, not for further acceleration.
The successor to the EKV, known as the Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV), was scheduled to debut in 2025.[1]The RKV program, headed by Boeing and lead subcontractor Raytheon, was canceled by the Department of Defense on August 21, 2019. Earlier in the year, the Pentagon had issued a stop work order on the project following a design review deferment in December 2018 due to the failure of critical components meeting technical specification.[2][3]
Raytheon is contracted to sustain, upgrade, and repair the EKV through 2034 until after the deployment of theNext Generation Interceptor (NGI),which will start to replace the EKV in 2030.[4]
Characteristics
edit- Weight: approx. 140 lb (64 kg)
- Length: 55 in (4 ft. 7 in.) (1.4 m)
- Diameter: 24 in (2 ft.) (0.6 m)
- Speed of projectile: roughly 10 km/s (22,000 mph)[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Wichner, David (26 March 2019)."ICBM target downed in key test of missile defense, Raytheon warhead".Arizona Daily Star.Retrieved2019-03-26.
- ^Pietsch, Bryan (21 August 2019)."Pentagon ends Boeing 'kill vehicle' contract, cites technical problems".Reuters.Retrieved2019-08-21.
- ^"USAspending.gov".usaspending.gov.Retrieved2023-07-22.
- ^"Redacted ESC J-A.pdf".highergov.Retrieved2023-07-22.
- ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on December 29, 2009.RetrievedFebruary 27,2010.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
edit- https://web.archive.org/web/20080315061300/http:// raytheon /products/ekv/
- https://archive.today/20060314045159/http:// oss.goodrich /ExoatmosphericKillVehicle.shtml
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