Pentagon officially cancels RKV contract

By Courtney Albon / August 21, 2019 at 3:19 PM

The Pentagon will officially terminate its contract with Boeing for the Redesigned Kill Vehicle, following a decision in May to stop work on the program and consider new development alternatives in light of "insurmountable" technical design flaws.

Inside Defense first reported in May that Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin had ordered a pause on development work after determining the program's path was "not viable." Since then the Pentagon has been conducting a new analysis to determine a way forward for developing a new kill vehicle for its fleet of Ground-based Interceptors.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Robert Carver said in an Aug. 21 statement the contract termination will be effective Aug. 22 and confirmed the Defense Department will start a new competition for a next-generation interceptor.

"The department ultimately determined the technical design problems were so significant as to be either insurmountable or cost-prohibitive to correct," Carver said in the statement. "Research and testing accomplished prior to the program's end will inform development of the next-generation interceptor, which will include a new kill vehicle."

The Missile Defense Agency spent about $700 million on the program. The Government Accountability Office reported in June that the program's cost was projected to grow by $600 million -- above the $1.08 billion contract to Boeing.

Griffin said last week that a team of DOD officials are close to determining a new strategy for the program after three months of analysis.

Raytheon, a subcontractor to Boeing on the program, said in a statement it supports MDA's decision to stop the program.

"Raytheon supports their decision to cease work on the Redesigned Kill Vehicle and initiate a competition for the next-generation interceptor to meet these advanced threats," the company said. "Raytheon will continue to develop and offer a wide range of advanced missile defense technologies available to protect the United States now and in the future."

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