Lockheed advances next-block GPS design

location based services

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Nov. 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force is on target to launch a new Global Positioning System satellite Friday from Cape Canaveral.

The GPS Block IIR-M spacecraft is the third in the series and will provide accurate positioning data for a variety of military purposes.

The Air Force is already along with the development of the next version of the satellite, which is known as Block III.

Lockheed Martin announced Thursday that it had completed the System Requirements Review (SRR) phase of the Block III program, setting the stage for the awarding of a development contract next year that has a multi-billion dollar potential for the winner.

"This important review successfully demonstrated our requirements maturity and readiness to proceed with a low-risk, high-confidence program to provide exceptional positioning and timing capabilities for both military and civil users worldwide," said Lockheed Vice President Don DeGryse.

Lockheed and payload partner ITT have been working on a design for GPS Block III that largely builds upon the second block and will "set a new world standard for positioning and timing services," the company said in a statement.

Along with improved accuracy, the Block III design provides advanced security and anti-jamming capabilities that will ensure U.S. troops will have GPS service for navigation and precision-weapons in the heat of battle.

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