After 16 Years and $8 Billion, the Military's New GPS Software Still Fails to Deliver
The OCX system, designed to control the next generation of GPS III satellites, faces massive delays and a budget that has more than doubled.
Last year, the US Space Force officially took ownership of the new operating system for the GPS navigation network, sparking hope for one of the military's most troubled space programs. However, the Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX) has yet to bear fruit. Designed to manage a constellation of over 30 satellites, OCX is essential for handling the jam-resistant capabilities and new signals of the GPS III generation, which began launching in 2018.
RTX Corporation, formerly Raytheon, won the contract in 2010 with an original completion date of 2016 and a budget of $3.7 billion. Today, the cost for the ground system has surged to $7.6 billion. With an additional $400 million allocated for an augmentation to support the upcoming GPS IIIF satellites, the total investment has reached $8 billion. Despite 16 years of development and massive spending, the system remains a significant challenge for the Pentagon.
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