MDA director explains KEI and MKV cancellations

Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Director Lieutenant General Patrick J O'Reilly explained to the US Senate Armed Services Committee on 16 June the decision to cancel the Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) and the Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV) programmes.

He said KEI's mission to counter advanced missile threats was inconsistent with the US Secretary of Defense's Fiscal Year 2010 (FY10) budget guidance to focus missile-defence development efforts on the threat posed by 'rogue' nations and theatre-range missile systems.

KEI started as a weapon intended to intercept ballistic missiles during the boost stage of flight, but was expanded to include a midcourse capability. This increased requirement was matched by increases in cost and timescale, O'Reilly told the committee.

A development programme originally expected to take five and a half years grew to a timescale of 12 to 14 years and the programme cost grew from USD4.6 billion to USD8.9 billion, with an average unit production cost per interceptor of more than USD50 million rather than the USD25 million originally projected.