The Air Force has decided to reduce award fees to Boeing because the company’s work on next-generation Global Positioning System satellites—GPS IIF—reportedly is more than $260 million over budget and three years behind schedule. USAF announced earlier this week that its review of the program turned up problems prompting it to delay launch of the first GPS IIF by a year, while it considered other actions. The Air Force has not yet said just how much Boeing will have to forfeit.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.