Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin and its Chicago-based competitor Boeing are gearing up for a much anticipated, multibillion dollar contract to build the next generation of GPS navigation satellites.
The U.S. Air Force was scheduled to release the request for the proposal, the exact dollar amount of which has not been announced, but the release has been moved to this Friday, according to the federal contracting Web site FedBizOpps. The contract will be awarded at the end of 2007.
Lockheed Martin considers GPS a “major focus area,” spokesman Steve Tatum said Monday. It and Boeing each built previous generations of GPS satellites, and received $78 million contracts to do risk-reduction work on preliminary designs.
“Our offering will leverage our successful experience in developing … the most technologically advanced GPS spacecraft series ever developed,” Tatum said, referring to the GPS 2R-M satellites, which are being launched now.
Lockheed Martin’s GPS 3 team includes local companies ITT of McLean and General Dynamics of Falls Church. Boeing is banking on strong program management and its expertise in both military and commercial communications satellites to win the contract, spokesman Dave Garlick said Monday.
The new GPS 3 satellites will be significantly more powerful than the current 27-satellite constellation. They will include advanced anti-jamming capabilities and stronger signals for non-military GPS users. The most recent launch date estimate is 2013. The first phase of the contract is expected to be for eight satellites, Garlick said. The Air Force is awarding a separate contract for the ground system that will control all the GPS satellites. That RFP was released earlier this month. Teams led by Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman and Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon have announced their plans to bid on the $160 million contract, which also will be awarded this year. Northrop Grumman’s team includes Lanham, Md.-based Integral Systems, as well as General Dynamics; Raytheon has not yet announced its team.
