The program to develop the Air Force’s next-generation ground control system for GPS satellites, known as OCX, is “a disaster,” Air Force Space Command boss Gen. John Hyten said Dec. 8 in Washington, D.C. “It’s just a disaster, and it’s embarrassing to have to stand in front of people and try to defend it, so I won’t,” he added, during an AFA Mitchell Institute event on Capitol Hill. The OCX program was recently criticized by Sen. John McCain, who wrote in a report that it will likely be four years late and cost twice as much as 2010 estimates. Hyten said that when “you start down a path” and keep “?pouring money” into a program, “and the contractor does not deliver, you’re in a tough spot.” Because Hyten is not in the acquisition chain of command, he said he cannot offer details, but warned that the Air Force is “going to do some pretty significant things with that contractor.” In October, the contractor, Raytheon, said in a statement emailed to Air Force Magazine that the program is “on a strong foundation” and that “nearly all of the corrective actions” have been completed. Raytheon in May delivered the first operational hardware for OCX to Schriever AFB, Colo.
Boeing received a $2.47 billion Air Force contract Nov. 25 for 15 more KC-46s, bringing to 183 the number of Pegasus tankers on contract to all customers, foreign and domestic. The new contract—for Lot 12 of the initially planned KC-46 buy—is to be completed by 2029.
