Raytheon's Improved Missile-Defense Warhead Delayed Two Years

  • Missile Defense Agency cites technical flaws with new warhead
  • It’s part of $34 billion system to stop North Korean attack
Displays of missiles stand at the Raytheon International Inc. chalet on day two of the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) 2018 in Farnborough.Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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Raytheon Co.’s redesigned missile-interceptor warhead -- an improvement on a system intended to defend against a potential North Korean attack -- will be delayed for two years because of technical difficulties, according to the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency.

The new version of the interceptor would be used in the $34 billion system that’s intended to detect an incoming intercontinental ballistic missile from an adversary such as North Korea or Iran, dispatching a missile to crash into it and destroy it.