Military & Aerospace:
U.S. missile defense experts are moving forward with three U.S. prime defense contractors to develop a future ballistic missile defense multi-warhead killer intended to detect, track, and kill several different incoming enemy missile warheads and decoys with only one counter-missile launch.
Officials of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in Huntsville, Ala., are asking systems designers at the Boeing Co., Raytheon Co., and Lockheed Martin Corp. for technology work related to the Multi-Object Kill Vehicle (MOKV) technology risk reduction effort.
The MOKV is to engage several incoming objects simultaneously with kill vehicles that communicate with one another and destroy several incoming warheads and decoys using advanced sensor, divert and attitude control, and communications technologies.
MDA officials announced a $58.6 million contract last Friday to the Boeing Defense, Space & Security segment in Huntsville, Ala., for the MOKV technology risk reduction effort. The Raytheon Missile Systems segment in Tucson, Ariz., won a $59.6 million contract last month, and the Lockheed Martin Space Systems segment in Sunnyvale, Calif., won a $53.1 million contract in March for MOKV technology risk reduction.
