UPDATE 1-U.S. to lead redesign of Raytheon missile defense 'kill vehicle' | Reuters: The U.S. Missile DefenseAgency on Monday said it was close to finalizing agovernment-led effort to redesign a Raytheon Co "killvehicle" used in the ground-based missile defense system thatwould involve Raytheon, Boeing Co and Lockheed MartinCorp.
Vice Admiral James Syring, who heads the agency, said thegovernment would own the new design, which it would use as thebasis for a competition to produce the new vehicles in 2018.
The government decided to spearhead the redesign effortinstead of hiring a prime contractor so it could benefit fromthe positive aspects of each of the proposals submitted by thethree rival companies, Syring told reporters at a budgetbriefing.
"It's our desire to get the best of all three, and that'swhat we intend to do," Syring said.
The redesign effort is part of a broader effort led bySyring to improve the reliability of the existing fleet ofground-based interceptors after a series of test failures,quality problems and other issues in recent years.
