Raytheon to Upgrade OCX Ground System to Integrate New GPS Satellites

The Space Force has issued a $228 million extension to a GPS ground system development contract that it awarded to Raytheon Technologies.

The contract extension requires Raytheon to upgrade the OCX ground system, which has been in development since 2012, to accommodate Lockheed Martin’s GPS 3F satellites, SpaceNews reported.

As per Raytheon’s timetable, some OCX upgrades, including hardened cybersecurity, anti-jam capabilities and new software compatible with the military’s M-code secure signals, will be delivered in 2022.

In a statement, Barbara Baker of the Space and Missile Systems Center touted the OCX’s adaptive architecture and its ability to combat emerging threats.

The OCX program achieved important milestones a few years back.

In 2017, the Air Force accepted the GPS OCX Launch and Checkout System, signifying Raytheon’s compliance with all the necessary contractual requirements.

A year later, the LCS supported the launch of the first next-generation GPS III satellites into space from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Since then, the LCS has helped launch three more GPS satellites. All four GPS satellites were handed off to the Air Force operations squadron.

The new Lockheed-built satellites that the OCX will be supporting are still under development and are projected to be launched in 2026. They will provide military and civilian users with positioning, navigation and timing capabilities.

As of December 2020, the SMC already purchased 14 GPS 3F satellites from Lockheed. The aerospace company is under contract to provide up to 22 GPS 3F satellites to the space agency.