Lockheed Martin successfully powered on the second Global Positioning System III space vehicle late last year at its Denver-area processing facility, announced the company on Jan. 29. The powering on of SV-02 is a “significant milestone,” said Mark Stewart, vice president for Lockheed Martin’s navigation systems mission area. It demonstrates the “mechanical integration, validates its interfaces, and leads the way for electrical and integrated hardware-software testing,” states the release. Lockheed is under production contract for the first six GPS III satellite vehicles—the first four of which were funded under the original contract. The fifth and sixth satellite vehicles were funded by an option exercised on Dec. 13, 2013, states the release. Lockheed also has received advanced procurement funding for long-lead components for the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth satellites.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.