Ground-Based Interceptor

• Is Missile — yes • Name — Ground-Based Interceptor • Origin — United States • Type — Anti-ballistic missile • Used By — United States Army • Engine — Solid-fuel booster, liquid-fuel vehicle • Weight — 21,600 kg • Length — ftin • Diameter — ftin • Speed — Over; Mach33 • Vehicle Range — (in testing only) • Filling — Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle • Guidance — Inertial + imaging infrared • Launch Platform — Silo

The Missile Defense Agency leads the development of anti-ballistic missiles for North America. The Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) is a MDA program to upgrade the kill vehicles for the ground-based interceptors, with different vendors, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman competing. They are tasked with meeting more complex threats than those met by the EKV. There will be more near-term technology improvement to the GBI during a longer-term process for NGI to meet more complex threats. The NGIs are to be fielded by 2027 or 2028. The Pentagon's Office of Cost and Program Evaluation (CAPE) estimated on April 29, 2021, that it would cost $17.7 billion to develop, deploy, and maintain the next-generation interceptor (NGI). This includes billions to build a total of 21 NGIs, each costing at least $74 million, and maybe more depending on the exact allocation of funding for the program. As part of the first phase, the Missile Defense Agency allocated $7.6 billion in contract money to Northrop Grumman (in partnership with Raytheon) and Lockheed Martin to upgrade aging ground-based interceptors (GBIs). On 12 September 2021 a test of the GBI, which is designed to use a three-stage booster, successfully met its goal of operating as a two-stage booster for an EKV. Think of it as just telling the third stage not to fire, which allows the kill vehicle to open its eyes, unbuckle its seatbelt, and get to work that much sooner. It trades the speed that the third stage would add for time. And that translates to flexibility.—Tom Karako interceptThe tracking sensors and computers (whether they be C2BMC, or IBCS, etc.), which follow the parabolic trajectories of the ballistic missile, count down the time to go needed before impact of the interceptor's kill vehicle with the targeted ballistic missile. When the tracking sensors and computers determine there is enough time to kill the ballistic missile without using the third booster stage, the kill vehicle can maneuver using its thrusters to hit the targeted ballistic missile without the third stage. This increases the probability of kill, for the kill vehicle, which can instead more closely follow the targeted missile, rather than its projected parabolic trajectory. As described, the NGI is being engineered to handle more complex situations to be able to hit maneuverable targets. On 11 December 2023 a two-stage GBI intercepted an IRBM for the first time, using integrated sensor data from the RTX AN/TPY-2 in forward-based mode, and from the Sea-based X-band radar. On 15 April 2024, Lockheed Martin was selected over Northrop Grumman and awarded a $17 billion contract to develop the Next Generation Interceptor.

The following is established of the heading itself. It is also recorded that ground-Based Interceptor is classified as an anti-ballistic missile or missile system. Associated with United States.