Raytheon, Lockheed gets multi kill missile defense contracts

Danger Room:

On Friday, the Pentagon announced that it had given Raytheon a $442 million contract for a system that could knock several missiles out of the sky, at once.

The current system -- the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, on today's Ground Based Interceptor anti-missiles -- is a "hit-to-kill" system that destroys an incoming target by sheer force of impact (this is usually described in journalistic shorthand as "a bullet hitting a bullet"). This new Multiple Kill Vehicle would allow a single missile defense interceptor to smack down multiple targets. That's especially important if the ballistic missile shield is to work: In the real world, an incoming ballistic missile is likely to deploy decoys to 'fool' the interceptor. If a number of small, independently targeted kill vehicles can be packaged on an interceptor booster, it increases the likelihood that all the objects in a "threat cluster" can be destroyed.

This contract will be "incrementally funded," meaning Raytheon will get a down payment of around $54 million to start work on the project through November 2009. Lockheed Martin has been working its own payload system, Multiple Kill Vehicle-L. A source close to the program told DANGER ROOM the Missile Defense Agency is taking a "risk reduction" approach by funding two contractors. "This is really important because MDA has made a decision they won’t be using singlet interceptors [one missile for one target], and they want to make sure that all their midcourse interceptors have the ability to hit multiple targets," the source said.

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This is good news for national security if it survives a Democrat Congress and administration. When incorporated into a multilayered system it can substantially reduce the value of rogue state missiles to threaten the US. I think that launch phase interceptors also have to be a part of such systems. Missiles are most vulnerable during the launch phase and if they are destroyed in that phase they are incapable of spoofing the system with dummy warheads.

I think the biggest threat to this system comes from Democrats and not from our adversaries.

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