Raytheon developing missile-ramming Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle
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The EKV is the 21st century equivalent of hitting a bullet with a bullet
Raytheon supplies the EKV for the Ground Based Interceptor program
The contract is to support Raytheon's continued development and deployment of the EKV
The EKV relies on speed of impact to destroy its target
The EKV includes sensors, rocket motors and a sophisticated guidance computer
The EKV has achieved eight successful intercepts in tests
Boeing is the primary contractor for the GBI program and supplies the booster rockets
Article Summary
If you visit the Blue & Gray Museum in Decatur, Alabama, you’ll see a remarkable curiosity – two bullets that collided in midair during a battle in the American Civil War. What does this have to do with ballistic missile defense in the 21st century? Everything, because that's exactly what the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) being developed as part of the American Ground Based Interceptor (GBI) missile defense system is intended to do – destroy high-speed ballistic missile warheads in flight by hitting them head on.
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