The Pentagon canceled its contract with RTX for a ground system intended to manage the newest, most capable GPS satellites.
Some 15 years after the project’s launch, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey pulled the plug on the Next-Generation GPS Operational Control Segment on April 17.
“The program was unable to deliver needed capabilities on an operationally relevant timeline at an acceptable level of risk to meet the GPS constellation modernization needs,” declared an April 21 Space Force statement announcing the decision.
Known by the acronym GPS OCX, the system was supposed to control the GPS III satellite constellation. But RTX failed repeatedly to meet cost and schedule targets, so that OCX is now 10 years late and the estimated cost to complete it had nearly doubled from $3.7 billion to a projected $6.27 billion.
Air & Space Forces Magazine reported in March that persistent substantive software issues continued to plague the program in its final phase of government testing, leading the Space Force to recommend OCX be canceled.
“Regrettably, extensive system issues arose during the integrated testing of OCX with the broader GPS enterprise,” Col. Stephen Hobbs, Mission Delta 31 commander, said in the service’s statement. “Despite repeated collaborative approaches by the entire government and contractor team, the challenges of onboarding the system in an operationally relevant timeline proved insurmountable. We discovered problems across a broad range of capability areas that would put current GPS military and civilian capabilities at risk.”
An RTX spokesperson said the company is “committed to supporting our customers and will work closely with the government on the next steps.”
The Space Force operates 32 GPS satellites, which serve both military and civilian users. Among those are nine GPS III satellites, which are designed to be more jam-resistant and precise than earlier ones. Lockheed Martin is developing the follow-on GPS IIIF family and the first of 22 of that model is scheduled for delivery next year.
Even with nine GPS III satellites on orbit, the Space Force has never been able to fully tap into their enhanced capabilities without the planned Blocks 1 and 2 of RTX’s OCX software.
RTX remains on contract for the next version of the system, OCX 3F, and a recent report from the Pentagon’s top weapons tester noted concerns that delays to OCX will trickle down into the follow-on program. But in the absence of OCX, Lockheed added its GPS III COps program to the existing architecture along with other upgrades to enable users to employ the new satellites’ encrypted M-Code signals.
The Space Force said its success upgrading AEP over the last decade “provides confidence that further upgrades to GPS ground systems will continue to support the enterprise and deliver new capabilities.”
What’s next now that OCX is cancelled remains unclear. But the Space Force earlier this month awarded Lockheed a $105 million contract to upgrade AEP to support GPS III launch and checkout, suggesting Lockheed has the inside track on future development.
The decision to cancel OCX comes amid a sweeping push from from top DOD officials—and even President Donald Trump—to pressure contractors to improve time and budget management. In January, Trump mentioned RTX by name in a Truth Social post criticizing its performance on key defense programs.
“It’s important we refine and update acquisition processes to prioritize rapid, incremental capability delivery versus complex ‘all or nothing’ system deliveries,” Ainsworth said in the April 20 statement. “The Department of War has made clear that we need to deliver warfighting capability at a faster rate. We must continue to work with industry to meet the needs of our warfighters as we focus on delivering the right technology on the right timeline to enhance our capabilities and maintain space superiority.”