Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV-L)

The Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV-L) is the first system capable of destroying multiple ballistic missile threats and decoys with a single launch. The system will carry multiple small kill vehicles that will destroy adversarial missiles and decoys by colliding with them in space.

The mission of the MKV is to destroy medium through intercontinental- range ballistic missiles equipped with multiple warheads or countermeasures by using a single interceptor missile.

During an actual hostile ballistic missile attack, the carrier vehicle with its cargo of small kill vehicles will maneuver into the path of an enemy missile. Using tracking data from the Ballistic Missile Defense System and its own seeker, the carrier vehicle will dispense and guide the kill vehicles to destroy any warheads or countermeasures.

The MKV-L development team is led by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. The MKV-L Hover Test Vehicle development team for the Missile Defense Agency includes: Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, prime contractor for the Multiple Kill Vehicle-L payload system; Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a United Technologies Corp., and Octant Technologies Inc.

Specifications/Features

• General Specifications: CLASSIFIED
• A low-risk, high-performance liquid fueled divert and attitude control system
• Design relies on a carrier vehicle: a larger system with its own divert, attitude control and propulsion capabilities that would carry smaller kill vehicles
• The carrier vehicle will prioritize the targets during the engagement, directing the MKVs to their destinations
• Individual MKV-Ls are about the size of a bread loaf
• Two operational prototype seekers have a state-of-the-art infrared, large-format focal plane array

The Missile Defense Agency's Multiple Kill Vehicle is a force multiplier for all of the land- and sea-based weapons of the integrated midcourse missile defense system. In the event of an enemy launch, a single interceptor equipped with this payload destroys not only the re-entry vehicle, but also all credible threat objects, including countermeasures the enemy deploys to try to spoof our defenses.

This many-on-many strategy eliminates the need for extensive prelaunch intelligence while leveraging the Ballistic Missile Defense System's discrimination capability, ensuring a robust and affordable solution to emerging threats.

A test of the Multiple Kill Vehicle-L (MKV-L) was conducted Tuesday, December 2, at the National Hover Test Facility at Edwards Air Force Base, CA. Preliminary indications are that planned test objectives were achieved.

Objectives of the test included having the MKV-L hover under its own power and prove its capability to recognize and track a surrogate target in a flight environment. During the test, the MKV-L's propulsion system demonstrated maneuverability while tracking a target.

The MKV-L transmitted video and flight telemetry to the ground.