Multiple Kill Vehicle Hover Test
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US Missile Defense Agency video of the 2 December 2008 free-flight hover test of Lockheed Martin's Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV-L). The MKV is designed to allow a single interceptor to destroy a ballistic missile equipped with multiple warheads or countermeasures. In Lockheed's design, a seeker-equipped carrier vehicle maneuvers into the path of the ballistic missile then dispenses and guides small kill vehicles to their targets. In its first test, the MKV-L hovered for 20 seconds in a special facility at Edwards AFB, California, while recognizing and tracking a simulated target.
Dec 10, 2008 8:47 AM
Re: Multiple Kill Vehicle Hover Test
Huh... That's actually pretty interesting. Is the idea to get that to hover at high-altitudes, after the ballistic missile's re-entry? They can't expect to get a missile before the apex...
By: Oh-Deeh
Re: Multiple Kill Vehicle Hover Test
Looks kinda fake. It doesn't react to the blasts at all and only seems to have upward thrust to counter them.
By: Boglin
Re: Multiple Kill Vehicle Hover Test
It isn't firing or demonstrating it's destructive capabilities here. The jets of flame from the side are stabilizers, which maintain the orientation of the unit. Probably gyroscopically stabalized, like a Segway. Seems relatively low tech. More advanced tracking would allow it to seek out a target, maybe by heat signature. It obviously couldn't travel great distances on it's own, so would have to be deployed in the vicinity of the missile. If you packed that sucker with some high-grade explosive, all it would have to do is get near the target and then detonate, kamikaze style. Seems like an extremely viable tool.
