Kill vehicle in two-stage missile test

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A Raytheon Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle performed a successful flyout during a test of the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense System.

During the non-intercept mission, the EKV met all test objectives and gathered critical data on kill vehicle performance, the company said.

"This test once again demonstrates the reliability and quality of Raytheon's Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle," said Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. "The knowledge we gained will strengthen our nation's shield against threat ballistic missiles."

An EKV consists of an infrared sensor in a flight package used to detect and discriminate the incoming warhead from other objects. It has its own propulsion, communications link, discrimination algorithms, guidance and control system and computers to support target selection and kinetic intercept, Raytheon said.

The test, conducted in June from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, involved a two-stage ground-based interceptor. Carrying an operational EKV payload, the GBI measured performance data for the new two-stage design as well as how an operationally configured EKV operates under stressing boundary conditions.