DENVER, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Air
Force awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a $45.5 million contract to provide Military Code
(M-Code) Early Use (MCEU) capability to the Global Positioning
System (GPS).
Part of the Air Force's overall modernization plan for the GPS,
M-Code is an advanced, new signal designed to improve anti-jamming
and protection from spoofing, as well as to increase secure access,
to military GPS signals for U.S. and allied armed
forces.
MCEU will provide command and control of M-Code capability to
eight GPS IIR-M and 12 GPS IIF satellites currently on orbit, as
well as future GPS III satellites, which the Air Force expects will
begin launching in 2018. MCEU is envisioned as a way to accelerate
M-Code's deployment in order to support testing and fielding of
modernized user equipment in support of the warfighter.
The Air Force's MCEU contract directs Lockheed Martin to upgrade
the existing Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) Operational Control
System (OCS) allowing it to task, upload and monitor M-Code within
the GPS constellation. The contract includes new software and
hardware development which will be deployed in 2019 to world-wide
ground facilities that support the Air Force's GPS.
"When people think of GPS, they often think of the satellites
that provide the signals, but do not remember the important ground
system behind it. We recognize the 'ground' is critical for any
major space mission constellation and we are proud that we can help
the Air Force with this part of their GPS modernization plan," said
Mark Stewart, Lockheed Martin's vice
president for Navigation Systems.
The AEP OCS -- currently maintained by Lockheed Martin under the
GPS Control Segment (GCS) Sustainment Contract -- controls the 12
GPS IIR, 8 IIR-M and 12 IIF satellites in orbit today. The company
has successfully implemented several recent projects to modernize
and sustain the system for the Air Force.
In June, Lockheed Martin deployed the first of its
state-of-the-art GPS Monitor Station Technology Improvement
Capability (MSTIC) receivers at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The software-defined MSTIC system replaces 30-year-old hardware,
positioning the Air Force to take advantage of commercial
off-the-shelf technology enhancements in processing power,
reliability and cybersecurity in the future. Six Air Force AEP OCS
monitoring stations around the world will receive the MSTIC upgrade
by the end of 2017.
In February 2016, the Air Force
awarded Lockheed Martin the GPS III Contingency Operations (COps)
contract to upgrade the AEP OCS with new capabilities so it could
support the more powerful, next generation GPS Block III
satellites. The COps program passed a successful Critical Design
Review milestone with the Air Force in December 2016.
Also in 2016, under the GCS contract, Lockheed Martin completed
the Commercial Off-the-Shelf Upgrade #2 (CUP2) project -- part of a
multi-year plan to modernize the AEP OCS' technology and enhance
the system's ability to protect data and infrastructure from
internal and external cyber threats, as well as improve its overall
sustainability and operability. CUP2 is now fully operational and
managing the current GPS constellation.
For additional GPS III information, photos and video visit:
www.lockheedmartin.com/gps.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a
global security and aerospace company that employs approximately
97,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research,
design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of
advanced technology systems, products and services.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin