Lockheed ahead of schedule on Air Force GPS system

Lockheed Martin Corp. said its Newtown-based team working on a new global-positioning system for the Air Force has completed the critical design review stage two months ahead of schedule.

Lockheed said in a release that the successful review allows it to enter the production stage on the GPS III system, which is designed to improve position, navigation and timing as well as anti-jamming capabilities, among other features, while providing signals three times more accurate.

The company is working with ITT (Clifton, N.J.) and General Dynamics (Scottsdale, Ariz.) under a $3 billion development and production contract awarded by the Air Force Global Positioning Systems Wing.

The development team expects to launch the first of its new satellites in 2014, and to product as many as 12.

"Having completed the milestone ahead of schedule with excellent results, the program is on firm footing, and I am confident the team will successfully deliver this critical next generation system to enhance GPS capabilities for millions of military and civilian users around the globe," said Col. Bernard J. Gruber, U.S. Air Force GPS Wing Commander.

Lockheed has about 13,000 employees at several sites in the Philadelphia region.    - Roslyn Rudolph