What does kinetic kill vehicle mean?
Kill vehicle is a term from space weapon development and science fiction which denotes either a kinetic projectile or an explosive warhead supposed to impact on or (in the case of the warhead) near a target. It is the final missile stage of an interceptor weapon.
What is a kinetic kill missile?
Hit-to-kill, or kinetic kill, is a term used primarily in the military aerospace field to describe weapons that deliver their destructive power by hitting the target at high velocity and do not contain an explosive warhead.
Why are kinetic kill vehicles important?
The Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle defends the United States against long-range ballistic missiles by destroying them while they are still in space. Also known as EKV, the kinetic-force weapon is the intercept component of the Ground-Based Interceptor and part of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System.
Does US have missile defense?
To supplement the ground-based interceptors, the US has other ballistic missile defense systems designed to protect smaller areas. One is the Aegis system, which can fire missiles from Navy ships or land-based launchers to target short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
What is next generation interceptor?
The Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) is a MDA program to upgrade the kill vehicles for the ground-based interceptors, with different vendors, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman competing. They are tasked with meeting more complex threats than those met by the EKV.
Can the US intercept a nuclear bomb?
A new study sponsored by the American Physical Society concludes that U.S. systems for intercepting intercontinental ballistic missiles cannot be relied on to counter even a limited nuclear strike and are unlikely to achieve reliability within the next 15 years.
Does America have interceptor bases?
As of April 2018, the Pentagon deploys 44 ground-based interceptors (GBIs)–40 at Fort Greely, Alaska, and four at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Does the U.S. have missile interceptor?
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) is a program of the US Army, utilizing ground-based interceptor missiles which can intercept missiles in the upper part of the atmosphere and outside the atmosphere.