Officials with the 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB, Colo., last week completed an upgrade of the Global Positioning System ground control element. The Architecture Evolution Plan 5.6 software upload is part of the Air Force’s broader efforts to improve and maintain the current GPS ground system. Col. Harold Martin, acting command lead for positioning, navigation, and timing in Air Force Space Command’s air, space, and cyberspace operations directorate, said the Jan. 5 refresh was “a small software update” to incorporate changes to support the upcoming launch of the second GPS Block IIF satellite. He added, “This release does not contain fixes involving any changes to the navigation message, and therefore should be transparent to the end user.” This work built upon the previous upgrade in December. (Peterson release)
The Air Force plans to spend $213 million on its fleet of CV-22s in fiscal 2027, part of a larger $1.12 billion investment across the Pentagon on a suite of improvements for the Osprey.