Following the Missile Defense Agency’s stop-work order in May, the Pentagon announced on August 21 its termination of the Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV) program. The RKV was intended to replace the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicles (EKV) fitted on U.S. Ground-Based Interceptors (GBIs) located in Alaska and California. According to Pentagon officials, the Department of Defense plans to cease production of GBIs and initiate a new competition for next-generation interceptors. The Pentagon plans to field a total of 64 GBIs, with 44 currently in service.