Lightweight Exo-Atmospheric Projectile
The Lightweight Exo-atmospheric Projectile (LEAP) is a lightweight miniaturized kinetic kill vehicle designed to destroy incoming ballistic missiles both inside[1] or outside the Earth's atmosphere.[2] The warhead is delivered to the interception point by a system such as the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.
History
Development began in 1985 by the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, which pioneered the development of miniaturized kill vehicle technology.
References
- ^ Strategic Defense Initiative: Some Claims Overstated for Early Flight Tests.
- ^ Paul Baker, Buster Kelley, Anne Avetissian, Lightweight exo-atmospheric projectile (LEAP) Space Flight Test, June 1992, performance validation, AIAA and SDIO, 2nd Annual Interceptor Technology Conference, Albuquerque, NM, June 6–9, 1993