Building on our history of delivering reliable and flight-proven space launch vehicles and missile defense targets, Orbital has emerged as a major supplier of interceptor booster vehicles for the nation's missile defense systems.
We are the sole supplier of interceptor boosters for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. The GMD interceptor is designed to intercept and destroy hostile ballistic missiles in their midcourse phase of flight before they reenter the Earth's atmosphere. Our Orbital Boost Vehicle (OBV) interceptor has successfully conducted six test flights and is being deployed in silos in Alaska and California. Orbital is under contract to The Boeing Company to deliver over 50 boosters since the beginning of the contract in early 2002.
Orbital is also a key partner in a Northrop Grumman/Raytheon team to develop, and test the Kinetic Energy Interceptors (KEI) program for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. The KEI is designed to destroy enemy ballistic missiles within minutes after their launch while they are still in their boost/ascent phase of flight. For the KEI program, Orbital will conduct early production phase design, engineering, manufacturing and testing of the interceptor booster vehicle.
Quick Fact The first OBV interceptor was emplaced in a missile silo at Fort Greely, Alaska on July 22, 2004
The most recent GMD test involving OBV was conducted in September 2007 and resulted in the successful intercept of a threat-representative target. Press Release
