Raytheon has been awarded a $636 million development and sustainment contract to provide the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle to The Boeing Company, which is the prime contractor for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program. Raytheon booked the award during its second quarter. EKV represents the centerpiece for the Missile Defense Agency's GMD as the intercept component of the Ground Based Interceptor, also known as GBI, which is designed to engage high-speed ballistic missile warheads in space.

"When it comes to developing, testing and deploying technologies that enable the intercept of threats in space, Raytheon is a world leader," said Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. "We are proud to contribute to our nation's first line of defense against the threat of ballistic missiles."

Under conditions of the contract, which extends through November 2018, Raytheon will provide EKV development, fielding, testing, system engineering, integration, configuration management, equipment manufacturing and refurbishment, and operation and sustainment.

Leveraging more than two decades of kill vehicle technology expertise, the EKV is designed to destroy incoming ballistic missile threats by colliding with them, a concept often described as "hit to kill."

+ EKV has an advanced multi-color sensor that is used to detect and discriminate incoming warheads from other objects.

+ The EKV also has its own propulsion, communications link, discrimination algorithms, guidance and control system and computers to support target selection and intercept.

+ EKV is deployed and operational today.

+ EKV has had eight successful intercepts throughout the life of the program.