Ground-based Midcourse Defense: Raytheon’s Successful Missile Intercept

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., May 30, 2017 – In a remarkable feat, Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) demonstrated the upgraded Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV), a kinetic-force weapon, successfully intercepting and destroying an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) during a Missile Defense Agency test of its Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system.

This marked the tenth successful intercept within the GMD program, designed to shield the United States from long-range ballistic missile threats by neutralizing incoming dangers while they are still outside Earth’s atmosphere.

Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, president of Raytheon Missile Systems, stated, “This test reinforces the United States’ strategy to enhance its ground-based interceptor inventory to a total of 44 in 2017. Our system is one of the most complex in the industry, and its advancements are critical for safeguarding the U.S. and its allies.”

The ICBM target was launched from the Reagan Test site located on Kwajalein Atoll, while the interceptor was fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Utilizing data from sea and space-based sensors, the EKV effectively tracked and differentiated the threat from various countermeasures, maneuvering into the target’s path and achieving destruction through advanced “hit-to-kill” technology.

The successful testing was bolstered by Raytheon’s state-of-the-art sea-based X-band radar (SBX) and AN/TPY-2 radar, both of which play critical roles in supporting the GMD system.

As a global leader in kill vehicle design and production, Raytheon concurrently manages multiple kill vehicle programs, including the EKV, Standard Missile-3 kinetic vehicle, Redesigned Kill Vehicle, and Multi-Object Kill Vehicle. Together, the Raytheon kill vehicle family boasts a stellar record of over 40 successful space intercepts.