US working on multiple kill vehicle

From Herald Sun

WEAPONS maker Lockheed Martin has tested a hovering robot intended to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles.

Video of the December 2 flight test of the "Multiple Kill Vehicle," at Edwards Air Force Base in California, has made it onto YouTube, and it looks like something out of the Terminator movies. [Click on link above to watch the video.]

Inside a large steel cage, Lockheed's MKV lifts off the ground, moves left and moves right, rapidly firing as flames shoot out of its bottom and sides, FOXNews reports.

The MKVs would be mounted on carrier missiles which would take them into space to engage enemy nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles at the peak of their trajectory arcs, The Pentagon said.

The MKVs would then break off from the carrier vehicles and shoot at enemy warheads with big bullets, "kinetic interceptors" in military-speak, before dropping back down to Earth.

Rival defence contractor Raytheon was working on its own multiple kill vehicle program, the US Missile Defence Agency said.

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