Raytheon completed the first Program Planning Review with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency for its Multi-Object Kill Vehicle concept, advancing the program.

The completion marks a milestone for the program's Concept Development Phase, designed to ensure the company is meeting the Missile Defense Agency's expectations. The Concept Review takes place in December.

Raytheon is developing four kill vehicle programs as a response to emerging long-range ballistic missile threats, including the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, the Redsigned Kill Vehicle, and the Multi-Object Kill Vehicle, or MOKV.

The MOKV contract was awarded to Raytheon in August, and it will be designed to engage and destroy multiple objects at a time in space by using an advanced sensor, guidance, propulsion and communication technologies.

"Emerging threats demand a new engagement paradigm -- one the Raytheon team is able to fully support with our depth of experience and breadth of capability," vice president of Advanced Missile Systems Dr. Thomas Bussing said in a statement.

The contract is valued at approximately $9.7 million. Production on the MOKV's concept is taking place at Raytheon's Advanced Missile System's product line. The company's kill vehicles are manufactured at the company's Space Factory.

Thales sub-contracted for NATO BMD test activities
Paris (UPI) Nov 20, 2015 -Thales is to perform test and integration support activities to help validate NATO's Ballistic Missile Defense capability.

The work, under a sub-contract from U.S.-based Leidos, is to be conducted as part of Leidos' multi-national team for NATO's BMD architecture. The team is responsible for the design, development and test of the BMD sensor interfaces with NATO's weapons and sensors and those of member states.

Thales said the testing and integration activities it will perform will occur at an integrated test bed in the Netherlands. Details of testing activities, however, were not detailed by the company.

The contract from Leidos is for four years with options for extension. The monetary value of the award was not given.

"This contract reinforces Thales's activities in ballistic missile defense," Thales said. "The first success in this field came in 2006 with the modified Thales SMART-L volume search radar tested on board (the Dutch ship) HNLMS Tromp. The radar tracked a ballistic missile from moments after being launched and provided a real-time uplink of the missile's trajectory."

In 2014, Thales was awarded contracts to update the four SMART-L radars on Dutch Navy ships to give the radars true BMD capabilities.

This year Thales demonstrated its sensor technology for detecting and tracking extraterrestrial objects at the international Maritime Theater Missile Defense Forum.