The Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif., intends to award a sole-source contract to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company to support the operations and sustainment of the Global Positioning System Block IIR satellite fleet from January 2009 through December 2016. The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract will have a one-year base period and seven one-year options. The new deal will be a follow-on arrangement to the current contract with Lockheed Martin that will expire at the end of the year. The fifth of eight Lockheed-modernized GPS IIR spacecraft launched last month.
The U.S. military is sending more fighter jets to the Middle East to step up its war with Iran, adding to what is already the largest buildup of airpower in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For now, the operation shows little sign of coming to a quick…