Aerojet completes hot fire propulsion test for redesigned Kill Vehicle

Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc., announced that in collaboration with The Boeing Company and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, its Divert and Attitude Control System (DACS) Center Manifold for the Missile Defense Agency's Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV) successfully completed hot fire altitude testing.

The RKV program is an integral part of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) element of the Missile Defense Agency's Ballistic Missile Defense System.

The Center Manifold was tested at the White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at a simulated altitude outside the Earth's atmosphere. The success of this test validated Aerojet Rocketdyne's unique technology, and marked a major milestone for the RKV DACS leading up to the Critical Design Review for the RKV development program.

Aerojet Rocketdyne is currently on contract with Boeing for RKV development and initial production, with the RKV DACS units being built out of its Los Angeles facility.

"Completion of this Divert and Attitude Control System Center Manifold testing is a significant milestone for our GMD RKV DACS program, and a major step forward to the Critical Design Review for this state-of-the-art propulsion technology," said Mo Khan, Aerojet Rocketdyne's senior vice president, Defense.

"We're extremely proud of our RKV team and our missile defense product lines, and the pinpoint accuracy our systems provide warfighters in defending the United States and its allies," said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake.

GMD provides Combatant Commanders the capability to engage and destroy intermediate- and intercontinental ballistic missile threats in space to protect the United States. The RKV improves kill vehicle reliability, reduces unit cost, improves maintainability in the field, and improves performance against emerging threats.

Related Links
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

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