The US Air Force has awarded a $53 million contract to Lockheed Martin to upgrade the systems on 12 out of 20 Block IIR global positioning system (GPS) satellites that it is building for the US Department of Defense.
The upgrade will add civilian signals and two new military channels to the spacecraft and provide additional signal power. The US Air Force had planned to start the GPS upgrade with the new Block IIF series, but Lockheed Martin proposed the early upgrade, which will accelerate the GPS modernisation programme by eight years.
Up to 33 Block IIF craft were to have been built by Boeing, but it will now provide six craft, with options for six more. The rest will be put out to bid as a result of advances in technology since the original contract was awarded. The USAF is also beginning design studies of a new generation of GPS III satellites.
Source: Flight International
