Lockheed Wins GPS Satellite Contract

Marco Caceres, a senior space analyst at the Teal Group in Fairfax, said the Pentagon has been lucky that the current GPS systems have lasted so long, but they now need to be replaced. “You’re fighting two wars,” he said. “You have military troops all over that have to communicate, and they’re dependent on satellites.” The newest GPS program will be closely watched, as the Pentagon’s space programs have long suffered cost overruns, problematic technologies and delays. John Young, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said he has directed the Air Force to tie the contractor’s payments to “specific program accomplishments,” not to adjust the scope of the program or change its technical specifications and to “consider solutions which lower cost or risk to deliver within or below budget.”

The oversight efforts, Young said, are part of “continuing a DoD push to award fees more carefully and on a more objective basis.” Of the Pentagon’s eight biggest satellite programs, all are over budget, from at least 20 percent over to more than double the original price, Caceres said. That includes a missile detection and warning satellite system made by Lockheed. “DoD is always looking for the latest technology for its satellites,” Caceres said. “The problem is that technology develops quickly but the development of the satellite itself takes a while. By the time it gets to its maturity, you realize there’s more advanced technology out there, so you add that at the last minute, and it leads to higher costs.”