Air Force researchers are exploring how to get overhead navigation signals in areas where the GPS constellation is limited due to terrain or an adversary’s denial efforts. To that end, the Air Force Research Lab awarded aerospace contractor ITT Excelis of McLean, Va., a $2.15 million contract to begin researching a small satellite navigation payload to augment the current GPS program, announced the company on Jan. 23. Excelis will conduct an 18-month study under the this project to identify ways to increase GPS affordability and sustainment through reduction of payload weight, size, and power, states the company’s release.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
