Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicles

In 2004, Raytheon delivered their first payload of exoatmospheric kill vehicles to Fort Greely, Alaska. Welcome to the newest frontier of the battle space, made possible by advancing technology. It is a theater of operations beyond the field of natural vision; a place where hostile ballistic missile targets are intercepted in midcourse flight phase, outside of the earth's atmosphere.

The National Missile Defense program was in the technological development column until 1996 when Secretary of Defense William Perry gave direction for transition to a major defense acquisition program. Here is the link to a speech by Perry. Remember, this was a decade ago. Things have moved steadily forward since that time. And although this technology is not perfected in the truest sense, as in a one hundred percent track and kill ratio with every test launch, we all know that technological advances come in waves. Each wave crests and then the next wave builds off the previous. So let's examine just one weapon in the exoatmosphere battle space, the kill vehicle.

The beauty of an EKV is that a hostile predator now becomes our prey. When a predatory missile is launched against us, a deployed EKV attains an intercept trajectory with a boost vehicle. With infrared and a nice package of artificial intelligence linked with ground control command, the EKV functions as a "kinetic kill" predator. This is the ultimate in Star Wars. Beyond the lead taken by Raytheon, other hands are in play to bring this weapon into our arsenal. For instance, Goodrich provides the visible focal plane assemblies. This technology is absolutely unbelievable! I don't have enough nuerons in my brain to synapse and grasp this stuff, but I am smart enough to appreciate it. smile

It could all happen while you are sleeping, you know. A rogue state deploys a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead. The missile is detected by an early warning system via both satellite and high resolution radar which track the warhead's path. As this information is tracked, the EKV is put into launch from the ground with the assist of a booster. It is then aided by command center control on the ground, feeding information into sensors on board which not only isolate the warhead but also run a differentiation algorithm for decoys and debris. The kill vehicle then positions for a direct collide maneuver with the inbound missile. This then produces the ultimate crash movie.

The technology has a price tag in the billions. Do we need it? Ask the other nations which are dabbling in the exoatmosphere battle space. Their governments support the price tag. And do sleep well at night. Remember: there are people paid to stay awake while you sleep. They manage both offensive and defensive weapons systems 24/7. And may the the world to which you awaken tomorrow be the same world you experienced today.

Tammy Swofford