Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle

Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle prototype

The Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) is the Raytheon-manufactured interceptor component with subcontractor Aerojet of the U.S. Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD), part of the larger National Missile Defense system.

The EKV is boosted to an intercept trajectory by a boost vehicle (missile), where it separates from the boost vehicle and autonomously collides with an incoming warhead.

The EKV is launched by the Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) missile, the launch vehicle of the GMD system. The EKV's own rockets and fuel are for corrections in the trajectory, not for further acceleration.

Characteristics

  • Weight: approx. 140 lb (64 kg)
  • Length: 55 in (4 ft. 7 in.) (1.4 m)
  • Diameter: 24 in (2 ft.) (0.6 m)
  • Speed of projectile: roughly 10 km/s (22,000 mph)[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 29, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
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