Raytheon Delivers Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle Payloads for Fort Greely Deployment
Tuesday August 17, 10:00 am ET



TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company has delivered the first deployable flight elements of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Ground- based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program from its Missile Defense Kinetic Kill Vehicle production facility in Tucson, Ariz.

The Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) payload is designed to intercept hostile ballistic missile targets outside the atmosphere in the midcourse phase of flight. The delivered payloads evolved from the EKV design that has been successfully flight tested over the last four years. By September, Raytheon will have delivered all required EKVs for the GMD program's initial deployment and testing.

The initial payloads are the first of 20 kill vehicles scheduled for delivery over the next two years for deployment at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. To satisfy the GMD deployment requirements, Raytheon built a world-class manufacturing facility combining the quality of spacecraft manufacturing and the cost efficiency of high-rate missile production.

"Delivery of the initial EKVs marks a significant milestone in meeting the December 2002 presidential directive to deploy an initial missile defense capability for the United States," said Paul J. Walker, Raytheon vice president for Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicles. "The delivery of these payloads is the result of the commitment and dedication of employees from both Raytheon and the entire EKV team. Raytheon is proud to provide our fellow citizens with the ability to defend our homeland against the threat of ballistic missiles carrying weapons of mass destruction."

Raytheon is also responsible for the manufacture and deployment of the Standard Missile-3 interceptor for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense program, which provides the capability to intercept ballistic missile threats from forward-deployed Aegis ships. Raytheon is also providing the Sea-Based X-band (SBX) and Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR) for the GMD segment, the Space Tracking and Surveillance System payload, the BMDS Radar, and THAAD radar and battle management software. The Boeing Company is the prime contractor for the Ground-based Missile Defense program.





Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Raytheon delivers first missile killers

ROMANO CEDILLOS
Tucson Citizen

The Associated Press

Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish announces a successful test of the exoatmospheric kill vehicle in this 2001 photo. The EKV weighs 120 pounds and has its own propulsion, communications, infrared seeker and guidance and control systems.  

U.S. missile defense reached a milestone yesterday when a Tucson missile plant delivered to the U.S. Army a long-awaited weapon designed to destroy missiles in mid-flight, officials said.
Raytheon Missile Systems announced yesterday the arrival at Fort Greely, Alaska, of its first Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, the payload of the Ground-based Midcourse Interceptor.

The silo-based interceptor made by Boeing Co. and its payload are launched against hostile missiles.

After separating from the interceptor, the EKV rams the incoming missile after the hostile missile leaves its initial boost phase but before it re-enters the atmosphere, said Alan Fischer, a local Raytheon spokesman.

In 2002, President Bush directed the Department of Defense to develop missile defense capabilities to begin operating in 2004 and 2005.

"Delivery of the initial EKVs marks a significant milestone ... to deploy an initial missile defense capability for the United States," Paul J. Walker, Raytheon vice president for EKV, said in a statement.

Twenty kill vehicles are scheduled for delivery to the Alaskan base and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California during the next two years, Fischer said.

Raytheon Missile Systems is Tucson's largest privately owned company and employs about 10,000 people.