Now awaiting White House approval, the Defense Department (DoD) plans a shift in its satellite procurement strategy that would affect both the content and the pace of GPS modernization, in order to rethink what needs to be accomplished to meet user needs over the long term.

At the heart of the revised plan is the decision to procure a third-generation GPS satellite, which DoD hopes will provide the higher-power, military M-Code signal, plus greater accuracy and lower life-cycle cost than is achievable with the current Block 2R and follow-on 2F birds, as reported by our sister publication, GLOBAL POSITIONING & NAVIGATION NEWS.