// UNMANNED SYSTEMS AND NEXT-GEN WARFARE TERM
Maneuverable Reentry Vehicle
A maneuverable reentry vehicle, or MaRV, is the warhead portion of a ballistic missile that can change its flight path after reentering the Earth's atmosphere. This agility makes it much harder for missile defense systems to intercept and destroy.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
A Maneuverable Reentry Vehicle (MaRV) is a ballistic missile payload delivery system, often carrying a nuclear or conventional warhead, equipped with aerodynamic control surfaces or thrusters to perform trajectory-altering maneuvers during atmospheric reentry. This capability enhances terminal guidance accuracy and provides a critical countermeasure to evade anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defense systems and interceptors.
BACKGROUND
A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) is an exoatmospheric ballistic missile payload containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. The concept is almost invariably associated with intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying thermonuclear warheads, even if not strictly being limited to them. An intermediate case is the multiple reentry vehicle (MRV) missile which carries several warheads which are dispersed but not individually aimed. All nuclear-weapon states except Pakistan and North Korea are currently confirmed to have deployed MIRV missile systems.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- MaRV
- maneuvering warhead
- evading reentry vehicle
- steerable RV
- guided warhead
- advanced reentry vehicle
- terminally guided RV
USAGE NOTE
The term is central to discussions about overcoming strategic missile defenses and enhancing the survivability and precision of ballistic missile strikes.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Maneuverable Reentry Vehicle.
A primary US defense contractor involved in developing hypersonic strike systems, such as the US Army's Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), which uses a maneuverable glide body. The company is also the prime contractor for the Trident II D5 SLBM, a platform associated with advanced reentry vehicle technology.
Prime contractor for the U.S. Air Force's LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM program, the replacement for the Minuteman III. This next-generation strategic deterrent will incorporate an advanced reentry vehicle, the Mk21A, expected to possess maneuvering capabilities to defeat modern missile defense systems.
A U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that is a key designer and engineer for the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB). The C-HGB is a maneuverable reentry vehicle being integrated into hypersonic weapons for the U.S. Army and Navy.
The R&D agency for the U.S. Department of Defense. DARPA has managed foundational programs in hypersonic flight and maneuverable reentry vehicles, including the Tactical Boost Glide (TBG) program, which aimed to develop and demonstrate technologies for air-launched hypersonic glide vehicles.
A major Russian rocket design bureau credited with developing the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle. The Avangard is an operational MaRV deployed aboard Russian ICBMs, capable of extreme maneuvers at hypersonic speeds to evade interception.
A key state-owned developer of China's ballistic missile systems. CALT is behind the development of the DF-17 missile, which is specifically designed to carry the DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle, a type of MaRV designed to penetrate advanced missile defense networks.
A Russian research and design institute that is the primary developer of many of Russia's solid-propellant ICBMs, such as the Topol-M and Yars. These modern strategic systems are designed to carry multiple reentry vehicles capable of evasive maneuvers.