Photo: OCX is designed to command and control GPS III Satellites (Lockheed Martin).
The U.S. Space Force has awarded Raytheon a $380 million contract extension to continue its work on the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX). According to a report by SpaceNews, this modification, which follows a a $197.7 million award in November 2024, brings the total cumulative value of the contract to $4.52 billion.
The extension covers pre-operational acceptance support and post-operational acceptance interim contractor support. Work will primarily be performed in Aurora, Colorado, and at Schriever Space Force Base, also in Colorado.
The troubled OCX, ground system is still on schedule for a September completion, said Charlotte Gerhart, deputy director, military communications and PNT, a the April Space Foundation Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.
“We are still on track. We are still in the middle of a lot of testing,” she said. “[This includes] making sure interfaces work and operators are trained. If we had been able to have OCX sooner, I would have been able to transition to on ramping more capabilities faster. It truly is a what if.”
Gerhart acknowledged that the GPS constellation faces serious jamming issues, but not from any one country. “We see jamming of all types—not specific to any country. There are opportunities to jam our systems, so we are carefully watching that,” she said.
, a critical software upgrade for the Global Positioning System (GPS) infrastructure. ){kind=link}