{"id":14981,"date":"2019-08-21T18:34:27","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T18:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:24:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:24:57","slug":"dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon terminates program for redesigned kill vehicle, preps for new competition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>UPDATE: This story has been updated to include a statement from Raytheon.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The Pentagon has moved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2019\/05\/28\/pentagon-hits-pause-on-redesign-of-critical-homeland-missile-defense-component\/\" target=_blank>taking a \u201cstrategic pause\u201d<\/a> on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/federal-budget\/2019\/03\/13\/missile-defense-review-ambitions-not-reflected-in-mdas-94b-fy20-budget\/\" target=_blank>Redesigned Kill Vehicle program<\/a> to outright killing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Department of Defense decided to terminate the current <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2018\/02\/01\/boeing-wins-66-billion-deal-to-support-missile-defense-system-build-more-interceptors\/\" target=\"_blank\">Boeing <\/a>contract to develop the RKV \u2014 effective Aug. 22 \u2014 \u201cdue to technical design problems,\u201d according to an Aug. 21 statement by the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Raytheon is the actual developer of the RKV and serves as a sub-contractor to Boeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The RKV would have replaced the current Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) on the Ground-Based Interceptor, which makes up the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system designed to protect the homeland from ballistic missile threats. It would have also been fielded on all future ground-based interceptors \u2014 a total of 64 ultimately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EKV is designed to destroy targets in high-speed collisions after separating from the booster rocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EKV required technical changes in the past several years due to issues in tests. The Missile Defense Agency decided to initiate a program to redesign the kill vehicle. In the meantime, MDA has had<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2019\/03\/25\/homeland-missile-defense-system-takes-out-icbm-threat-in-historic-salvo-test\/\" target=_blank> several successful tests of the GMD system <\/a>with the EKV following engineering changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2017\/05\/30\/missile-takedown-historic-icbm-intercept-test-sends-strong-message-to-north-korea\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ground-based-midcourse-defense-system-icbm-test.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Missile takedown: Historic ICBM intercept test sends strong message to North Korea<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A monumental intercept test for the United States\u2019 critical homeland defense system designed to defend against intercontinental ballistic missile threats from North Korea and Iran was a success, the Missile Defense Agency announced Tuesday shortly after the test.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now that the RKV is dead in the water, the Pentagon plans to move forward with a new, next-generation interceptor competition, the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a defense official, no more ground-based interceptors will be built, and all future interceptors that are fielded as part of the GMD system will be the new interceptors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEnding the program was the responsible thing to do,\u201d Mike Griffin, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said in the statement. \u201cDevelopment programs sometimes encounter problems. After exercising due diligence, we decided the path we\u2019re going down wouldn\u2019t be fruitful, so we\u2019re not going down that path anymore. This decision supports our efforts to gain full value from every future taxpayer dollar spent on defense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the blessing of the undersecretary of defense, Griffin made the decision on Aug. 14 to terminate the program, one week after he told reporters at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, to expect a decision on the way forward for RKV soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/19\/us-missile-defense-agency-boss-reveals-his-goals-challenges-on-the-job\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Hill-for-Jen.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US Missile Defense Agency boss reveals his goals, challenges on the job<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The new Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill sat down with Defense News in an exclusive interview at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MDA and Boeing in December 2018 deferred a critical design review of the RKV \u201cdue to the failure of certain critical components to meet technical requirements as specified in the development contract,\u201d the statement noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After MDA assessed the issues, it issued a stop work order on the contract in May to analyze alternative options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe department ultimately determined the technical design problems were so significant as to be either insurmountable or cost-prohibitive to correct,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DoD plans to take data garnered from research and testing of the RKV prior to its cancellation to inform the next-generation interceptor program, \u201cwhich will include a new kill vehicle,\u201d according to the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2017\/11\/17\/countering-north-korea-hill-authorizes-major-buildup-in-homeland-missile-defense\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"229\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635947692700228300-us-missile-defense-weigjpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Countering North Korea: Congress authorizes major buildup in homeland missile defense<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">As fear of missiles from North Korea and Iran reaching U.S. soil heighten, Congress wants to ensure what is already on the ground at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, can defeat threats now and into the future.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe U.S. Missile Defense Agency is updating its requirements in the face of an increasingly complex threat environment,&#8221; Raytheon said in a statement. The company \u201csupports their decision to cease work on the Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV) and initiate a competition for the next-generation interceptor to meet these advanced threats. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2017\/11\/07\/final-ground-based-missile-defense-interceptor-in-place-at-fort-greely\/\" target=_blank>44 ground-based interceptorss in place at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base<\/a>, California, with plans to add 22 additional missile silos at Fort Greely to support 20 more ground-based interceptors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The defense official said the Pentagon is still working through the details of a new, next-generation interceptor competition, including when it will be initiated and the pace at which the technology will be developed and fielded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pentagon has canceled its major effort to redesign the kill vehicle of its Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system. Now the department will initiate a new competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":28823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[37,160,12,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3330],"class_list":["post-14981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-daily-news-roundup","category-industry","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"5VOPFHXW25AYPL7ENCF6ZCNGDQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pentagon terminates program for redesigned kill vehicle, preps for new competition - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Pentagon has canceled its major effort to redesign the kill vehicle of its Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system. Now the department will initiate a new competition.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pentagon terminates program for redesigned kill vehicle, preps for new competition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Pentagon has canceled its major effort to redesign the kill vehicle of its Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system. Now the department will initiate a new competition.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-21T18:34:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:24:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jen Judson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jen Judson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Pentagon terminates program for redesigned kill vehicle, preps for new competition\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-08-21T18:34:27+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:24:57+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 624,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/ground-based-midcourse-defense-system-icbm-test.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Breaking News\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Industry\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Pentagon terminates program for redesigned kill vehicle, preps for new competition - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/ground-based-midcourse-defense-system-icbm-test.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-08-21T18:34:27+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:24:57+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The Pentagon has canceled its major effort to redesign the kill vehicle of its Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system. Now the department will initiate a new competition.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/ground-based-midcourse-defense-system-icbm-test.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/ground-based-midcourse-defense-system-icbm-test.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/21\\\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Pentagon\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"pentagon\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Pentagon terminates program for redesigned kill vehicle, preps for new competition\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pentagon terminates program for redesigned kill vehicle, preps for new competition - Defense News","description":"The Pentagon has canceled its major effort to redesign the kill vehicle of its Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system. Now the department will initiate a new competition.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pentagon terminates program for redesigned kill vehicle, preps for new competition","og_description":"The Pentagon has canceled its major effort to redesign the kill vehicle of its Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system. Now the department will initiate a new competition.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2019-08-21T18:34:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T21:24:57+00:00","author":"Jen Judson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jen Judson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Pentagon terminates program for redesigned kill vehicle, preps for new competition","datePublished":"2019-08-21T18:34:27+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:24:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/"},"wordCount":624,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ground-based-midcourse-defense-system-icbm-test.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Breaking News","Daily News Roundup","Industry","Newsletters","Pentagon"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/","name":"Pentagon terminates program for redesigned kill vehicle, preps for new competition - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ground-based-midcourse-defense-system-icbm-test.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2019-08-21T18:34:27+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:24:57+00:00","description":"The Pentagon has canceled its major effort to redesign the kill vehicle of its Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system. Now the department will initiate a new competition.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ground-based-midcourse-defense-system-icbm-test.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ground-based-midcourse-defense-system-icbm-test.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/08\/21\/dod-tanks-redesigned-kill-vehicle-program-for-homeland-defense-interceptor\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pentagon","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/","ad_zone":"pentagon"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Pentagon terminates program for redesigned kill vehicle, preps for new competition"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ground-based-midcourse-defense-system-icbm-test.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14981"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73851,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14981\/revisions\/73851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14981"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=14981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}