(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Lockheed Martin and Boeing will compete this spring for a multibillion-dollar contract to supply the US Air Force with up to 32 next-generation global positioning satellites.
The Air Force will replace 24 satellites in orbit with a new system, called Global Positioning System III, that is intended to improve navigation by air, land and sea and be more difficult for enemies of the US military to disable.
Both Lockheed and Boeing already supply the Air Force with satellites.
The Pentagon is expected to seek bids for the first phase of the contract in mid-to-late March and announce a single winning team by late August, Candrea Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center, said.
The first phase of the contract, according to the Air Force, will be for 8 satellites to be delivered by 2013. The second phase is for another 8 satellites by 2016, and the third phase is for another 16 satellites by 2019.
The overall cost of the new satellite system has yet to be determined. However, based on the budget proposed for fiscal years 2008-2013 by the administration of US President George W. Bush, about $4.26 billion has been designated to GPS III for research and development funding. That figure excludes procurement funding.
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