Pentagon’s New Kill Vehicle Strategy Expected Soon | Defense content from Aviation Week: The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is weighing two options for the long-awaited procurement of a new Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV)—dubbed the Redesigned Kill Vehicle—for its Ground-Based Missile Defense system, a shield for the U.S. against ICBM attack.
In 2014, the GMD program was under intense scrutiny until its successful intercept of a complex, long-range target in July, ending an unsuccessful flight test streak that stretched from December 2008.
The test allowed program officials to turn their attention toward envisioning an improved, more reliable vehicle. Previously, they were consumed with trying to fix reliability problems and a decade-long problem with EKV vibrations impacting the inertial measurement unit in the guidance section.
The procurement strategy likely will be released with the fiscal 2016 budget plan early next year. The Pentagon is exploring two options: a full competition or picking the best attributes of existing design options and having the government manage them to produce a best-of-breed option, MDA Director Vice Adm. James Syring said in December
