\u201cFull control of modernized civil and M-code signals and navigation warfare functions, as well as improved cybersecurity, continue to be delayed due to ongoing development and deployment delays of the next generation Operational Control System (OCX), along with delays in the fielding of M-code capable receivers for use by the U.S. and allied warfighters,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n
The M-Code signal is a more powerful and encrypted signal to help military users overcome jamming and protect against false GPS signals being used to spoof users by misdirecting them.<\/p>\n
The long-delayed OCX software being developed by Raytheon Technologies is required to command and control the most modern GPS satellites. Those are the\u00a0GPS III sats, five of which are now on orbit\u00a0<\/a>and built by prime contractor Lockheed Martin, which can broadcast an even more powerful M-Code signal.<\/p>\n In particular, DoD\u2019s inability to field radios and modern receivers to access the signal, being developed under the\u00a0Military User GPS Equipment (MGUE) program,<\/a>\u00a0has been one of the banes of the GPS program for more than two decades \u2014 as\u00a0reported\u00a0ad nauseam\u00a0<\/em><\/a>by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and taken to task in the DOT&E report.<\/p>\n The MGUE effort has two tiers: MGUE Increment 1 to develop the baseline computer equipment (chips and cards) for initial integration with Army Strykers and Marine Corps Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, as well as for the Air Force\u2019s B-2 bombers and the Navy\u2019s DDG-class destroyers; and MGUE Increment 2 to develop smaller, more modern equipment for newer kit, in particular the Joint Common Modernized Hand Held Receiver. Space Force provides the MGUE computer chips and cards to enable M-Code for users, while the individual services have to develop and fund the actual radio\/receiver equipment for their weapon systems and personnel.<\/p>\n \u201cOngoing delays of final software and hardware builds by MGUE Increment 1 vendors continue to cause delays to MGUE Increment 1 lead platform test schedules, which increases the risk for platforms seeking to implement MGUE,\u201d the DOT&E report explains.<\/p>\n It adds that as a result, the Army and Marines \u201chave turned to commercially available, MGUE-derived M-code receivers to continue meeting PNT [position, navigation and timing] requirements. Those systems will undergo operational testing outside of the MGUE Increment 1 program of record.\u201d<\/p>\n In other words, DoD has had to spend\u00a0extra<\/em>\u00a0money to get capability that it already has been spending oodles on. The Pentagon\u2019s fiscal 2022 budget request included $1.8 billion for all three GPS segments, which of course doesn\u2019t include the individual service budgets for building radios.<\/p>\n The DOT&E report notes that while the current plan is for the MGUE Increment 1 aviation\/maritime equipment to be first tested on the B-2 in 2024, \u201cgiven the sundown plans for the Air Force to retire the B-2 in the early 2030 timeframe, any future schedule slips may warrant the Air Force to select another platform to support the planned integration.\u201d<\/p>\n A July 2021 version of what Space Force calls the GPS Enterprise Roadmap, as reported by\u00a0GPS World,<\/a>\u00a0shows that plans for all three GPS segments \u2014 the satellites, the ground control systems and the user equipment \u2014 have been delayed from the previous schedule. Space Force has yet to respond to a request for comment on the chart.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screen-Shot-2022-01-27-at-2.34.49-PM.png\")