Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a $160 million U.S. Air Force contract for the Global Positioning System (GPS) Next Generation Control Segment (OCX) System design and risk reduction.
The OCX modernization effort will provide mission enterprise control support for the nation’s existing GPS Block II and future Block III satellites. The GPS ground control segment includes satellite command and control, mission planning, constellation management, monitoring stations and ground antennas.
Under the 18-month cost plus award fee contract, Northrop Grumman’s Team OCX will provide architecture design; communications and network engineering; information assurance and security; modelling and simulation; network management; software development; support, maintenance and implementation; systems engineering and integration; and test and evaluation. If Northrop Grumman’s Team OCX is selected to proceed into system development, the program could potentially be valued at more than $1 billion.
"The Northrop Grumman team offers a low-risk solution that will readily evolve to meet the ever-increasing operational demands placed on GPS. We are excited by the opportunity to partner our experienced industry team with the Air Force to modernize GPS command and control," said Steve Bergjans, GPS OCX vice president and program manager for Northrop Grumman. "Our team is positioned to measurably improve the operational responsiveness, availability, survivability and accuracy of global GPS services."
Northrop Grumman’s Team OCX includes Harris Corporation, Melbourne, Fla.; Integral Systems, Inc., Lanham, Md.; General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Arlington, Va.; Infinity Systems Engineering, Colorado Springs, Colo.; NAVSYS Corporation, Colorado Springs; and Applied Minds, Glendale, Calif.
Under an Air Force risk reduction effort, Northrop Grumman has since 2005 supported the study of state-of-the-art capabilities in satellite control segment software and hardware architecture and developed innovative architectures to meet OCX performance requirements.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $30 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.
