The Lockheed Martin-led industry team designing the Air Force’s GPS Block III satellite has successfully completed the program’s integrated baseline review with service officials, the company announced Monday. The IBR looked at the entire GPS III program and established a reliable baseline in relation to cost, schedule, and technical requirements. Don DeGryse, Lockheed’s vice president of navigation systems, said the IBR shows that the program has “a solid technical baseline and a high-confidence schedule in place.” Lockheed triumphed over Boeing in May for the rights to build the GPS III satellites. Its team is currently operating under a $1.4 billion contract to build the first two GPS IIIA satellites, with first launch projected in 2014. There are contract options for up to 10 additional GPS IIIA satellites. Next up is the satellite’s preliminary design review, which is provisionally scheduled for the second quarter of next year, according to Lockheed.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.