MISSILE DEFENSE Raytheon Awarded Development Cintract For BMD Multiple Kill Vehicle
Nov 14, 2008

Raytheon was awarded a $54 million Missile Defense Agency contract to continue design and development of a Multiple Kill Vehicle. MKV-R, as it is known, will counter complex ballistic missile threats during the midcourse phase of flight with multiple kill vehicles launched from a single interceptor.

"Raytheon is the only company that has designed, developed and deployed exoatmospheric kill vehicles for the Ballistic Missile Defense System," said Frank Wyatt, Raytheon Missile Systems vice president of Naval Weapon Systems. "This contract award establishes Raytheon as the prime contractor for the development of the MKV-R and as the systems integrator for the MKV-R payload."

MKV-R consists of several identical kill vehicles with the same capabilities and flexibility. One kill vehicle serves as the engagement manager by communicating battlespace information to the BMDS, simultaneously assigning targets and providing kill assessment. All kill vehicles have the same capability to autonomously track and intercept threats with hit-to-kill accuracy, providing redundancy and eliminating the risk of single point failure. "With more than two decades of kill vehicle experience, Raytheon is the industry leader in design, development and production," said Wyatt. "We are leveraging our expertise to develop the multiple-kill concept."