The US Space Force is considering options including cancellation for its GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System, known as OCX, nine months after taking ownership from RTX. The system, intended to manage advanced GPS satellites, remains nonoperational despite years of development and billions in costs. Assistant Secretary Thomas Ainsworth informed Congress of ongoing extensive issues across subsystems.
Last July, just before the Fourth of July holiday, the US Space Force accepted delivery of the OCX ground system from RTX Corporation. Designed for command and control of over 30 GPS satellites, including handling new signals and jam-resistant features on GPS III satellites launched since 2018, the program has faced persistent troubles since RTX won the contract in 2010 for $3.7 billion. Costs have now reached $7.6 billion, with an additional $400 million planned for GPS IIIF support, totaling $8 billion, yet the system is not operational. Thomas Ainsworth, assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration, told the House Subcommittee on Strategic Forces last week that testing with actual satellites and equipment revealed extensive unresolved issues. “Extensive and more operationally relevant testing... led to an increase in finding extensive system issues across all subsystems, many of which have not been resolved,” Ainsworth stated in prepared testimony. He noted the program has endured over 15 years of technical challenges, delays, and cost overruns, risking future satellite launches. Delays prompted upgrades to the legacy control system in 2020, enabling partial use of M-code signals resistant to jamming and spoofing in conflicts like those in Ukraine and the Middle East. Officials had anticipated OCX for full M-code exploitation on around 700 weapons systems. Ainsworth indicated updating the existing system is now viable, while a Space Force spokesperson confirmed consideration of cancellation. RTX stated that the Space Force accepted a mission-capable system in 2025 and is addressing post-delivery concerns collaboratively.
