Boeing awarded $1B contract for Redesigned Kill Vehicle

May 23 (UPI) -- Boeing has been awarded a $1 billion modification to a previously awarded contract for development of the Redesigned Kill Vehicle, or RKV.

The contract includes payload design, ground testing and integration of the RKV with the ground-based interceptor and ground-based midcourse defense systems.

The program also covers flight testing and the delivery of four production RKVs for initial fielding. This modification brings the total value of the contract to $5.8 billion, up from the original $4.75 billion, the Department of Defense announced on Monday.

The work will be conducted in Huntsville, Ala., Tucson, Ariz., Sunnyvale, Calif., and other government sites and subcontractor locations. The program is expected to be completed by June 30, 2022.

The project is a joint program across the defense industry, and includes work by Boeing, Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Raytheon. The contract was non-competitive and awarded on a sole-source basis. Fiscal 2017 funds of $250,000 were allocated at the time of the award.

The RKV is meant as an upgrade and supplement to the current Exo-Atmospheric Kill Vehicle, or EKV. Both systems are ground-based interceptors for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency designed to defend the U.S. mainland against long-range ballistic missile attacks.

The RKV offers improved maneuverability and targeting performance compared to the EKV, which has a poor test record.