U.S. Air Force Awards LM GPS M-Code Early Use (MCEU) Ground System Upgrade Contract

September 12, 2017

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The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin (LM) a $45.5 million contract to provide Military Code (M-Code) Early Use (MCEU) capability to the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Part of the Air Force's overall modernization plan for the GPS, M-Code is an advanced, new signal designed to improve anti-jamming and protection from spoofing, as well as to increase secure access, to military GPS signals for U.S. and allied armed forces.

MCEU will provide command and control of M-Code capability to eight GPS IIR-M and 12 GPS IIF satellites currently on orbit, as well as future GPS III satellites, which the Air Force expects will begin launching in 2018. MCEU is envisioned as a way to accelerate M-Code's deployment in order to support testing and fielding of modernized user equipment in support of the warfighter.

The Air Force's MCEU contract directs Lockheed Martin to upgrade the existing Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) Operational Control System (OCS) allowing it to task, upload and monitor M-Code within the GPS constellation. The contract includes new software and hardware development which will be deployed in 2019 to world-wide ground facilities that support the Air Force's GPS.

"When people think of GPS, they often think of the satellites that provide the signals, but do not remember the important ground system behind it. We recognize the 'ground' is critical for any major space mission constellation and we are proud that we can help the Air Force with this part of their GPS modernization plan," said Mark Stewart, Lockheed Martin's vice president for Navigation Systems.

The AEP OCS -- currently maintained by Lockheed Martin under the GPS Control Segment (GCS) Sustainment Contract -- controls the 12 GPS IIR, 8 IIR-M and 12 IIF satellites in orbit today. The company has successfully implemented several recent projects to modernize and sustain the system for the Air Force.

Source : Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT)