Lockheed Martin has begun to develop a new missile designed to target and destroy incoming projectiles through the use of a radar system and kinetic energy, the New York Post reported Friday.
The company has recently tested in New Mexico the Miniature Hit to Kill Missile platform, which is based on the technology used in the Thermal High Altitude Area Defense system and works to zero in on rockets, mortars, unmanned aerial vehicles and artillery.
“Instead of getting close to it and making a big explosion, what we do is actually, the nose of our missile hits the part of the incoming round that we want to hit,†Chris Murphy, Lockheed head of business development for MHTK, said of the new missile system.
“The idea is to provide protection from a large area from a launcher or two launchers that can reach out and defeat the incoming rounds before they get anywhere close to our soldiers,†Murphy added.