Lockheed Martin is developing the Miniature Hit-to-Kill (MHTK) interceptor missile for the U.S. Army as part of the Extended Area Protection and Survivability Integrated Demonstration program. The MHTK is 2.5-feet long and 1.5 inches in diameter and weighs 5 pounds.
Chris Murphy, business development lead at Lockheed Martin, says the upgraded electronics performed well, as did the redesigned wing configuration of the interceptor missile.
"Originally the MHTK had four small wings at the front and four tail fins at the back," Murphy says. "But we needed more agility, so we added four more tail fins, and the latest flight test at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico proved that the missile has the agility to pull the number of G's needed to get the correct geometry to intercept the target."
Murphy points out that the MHTK does not carry a warhead, and "the only energetic in the missile is the rocket motor, which guides this very agile airframe to an impact point. It's designed to provide a single high-probability kill with a single shot."
The MHTK's electronics consist of a high-frequency RF seeker that allows the missile to lock onto the incoming target at the acquisition point, and guidance, navigation and control systems. MHTK has a number of associated components including a launcher, radar set, and engagement control station.
Murphy says a radio/RF data link provides communication between operators on the ground and the interceptor missile in flight. The missile's high-frequency fire control sensor illuminates the target and directs the missile in all weather conditions using an active electronically scanned array antenna that provides a 45-degree field of view in elevation angle and up to a 90-degree scan angle.
The types of targets that MHTK is designed to intercept, Murphy notes, are small and medium caliber rockets like the 3.75-inch, 107-mm, and 220-mm; battlefield mortars from 60-mm to 120-mm; and artillery such as105-mm, 152-mm, and 155-mm.
"All those weapons can be launched at different elevations, creating a different parabolic arc for the MHTK," Murphy says, "so our effective intercept range is closer against slower targets, while faster targets can be intercepted farther out. We use the incoming round's velocity and our missile's velocity to get a relative velocity that is greater than the two components, and use that to help the kinetic energy make the kill."
Murphy adds that the latest flight test met every one of our threshold goals for the missile. “White Sands Missile Range did an excellent job with their technology to capture the telemetry for the missile's entire flight path, which was especially difficult to track because of the short range."
About the author: Alan M. Petrillo is a Tucson, Ariz., journalist who writes for national and regional magazines and newspapers. He's the author of several books on historical military firearms; two historical mysteries, Full Moon and Asylum Lane; and his latest historical thriller, A Case of Dom Perignon; all available at www.amazon.com.