Common Kill Vehicle
Abstract
Development of common kill vehicle architecture and interfaces could lower cost and raise reliability of ballistic missile defense interceptors. Common architecture and interfaces would provide development and fielding of a common kill vehicle for Ground Based Interceptors (GBI) and Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) variants, while reducing development risk and decreasing costs. A common kill vehicle could also facilitate rapid upgrades and replacement of key components, and also establish a scalable foundation for the production and performance for a common kill vehicle approach for both single threat negation and evolution to a volume kill concept to destroy several lethal objects from a single missile, which would provide the warfighter the ability to reevaluate shot doctrine and inventory for GBIs and SM-3 variants. If determined to be feasible, these combined efforts will improve probability of negating large raid sizes. The common kill vehicle development program will focus on developing and testing key technologies and concepts to include: - High performance, lightweight maneuvering propulsion - Long range acquisition seekers - Improve seeker discrimination capability - Engagement management algorithms - Shipboard compliant propulsion and leak mitigation systems - Non-proprietary software, algorithms, models and simulation The Missile Defense Agency is executing Public Law 112-239, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, which directed the development of a long-term plan for the Exo-Atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) that addresses both modifications and enhancements to the current EKV and options for the competitive development of a next generation EKV for the GBI and any other interceptor that might be developed for the defense of the United States against long-range ballistic missiles. We will define the technical parameters and performance capabilities for the next generation EKV which will inform the development of a common kill vehicle, its architecture and common interfaces. The Missile Defense Agency plans to: - Investigate processes and procedures to streamline manufacturing focusing on high tolerances to production processes and supply chain variability and inherent reliability - Optimize integration and exploit BMDS architecture and sensors of today and tomorrow, to include increased discrimination - Leverage relevant kill vehicle development activities and technology across the Department of Defense - Maximize commonality of sub-systems and components for the next generation EKV and future kill vehicle development - Meet Department of Defense criteria, as established in the February 2010 Ballistic Missile Defense Review, for affordability, reliability, suitability and operational effectiveness to defend against evolving and future threats from long-range missiles - Evaluate potential benefits and drawbacks of options for both unitary and multiple kill vehicles Development of the common kill vehicle architectures and interfaces provides the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) the opportunity to balance Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) architecture in light of the evolving threat and to do so at a lower cost while potentially improving performance. By consolidating future kill vehicle technology development efforts, MDA will work with industry primes and suppliers to define the best technical approach for a modular, open architecture that yields all the aforementioned improvements for reliability and performance at a lower cost. This modular open system approach could also increase opportunities for competition and international cooperation for all components with the common kill vehicle architecture. This technology leads to a new high performance, high reliability, highly producible common kill vehicle that could be ready before the end of the decade.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Project
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2014
- Source ID
- MD85_0603175C_3_0400_PB_2014
Related Documents
- Root: Ballistic Missile Defense Technology
- Child Accomplishment: Common Kill Vehicle