U.S. could still cancel Raytheon GPS ground system: general

[February 22, 2016]  By Andrea Shalal
 
 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon and the U.S. Air Force could still cancel the ground control system Raytheon Co is developing to operate new GPS satellites, if the company does not improve its performance on the troubled system, a top U.S. general said.

Lieutenant General Samuel Greaves, who heads the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center, said officials were keeping close tabs on Raytheon's GPS Operational Control System, or OCX, which he described as the Air Force's "No. 1 troubled program."

"OCX has significant promise, but no system is a no-fail system," Greaves told a breakfast hosted by the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. "Nothing is too big to fail."Pentagon chief arms buyer Frank Kendall is due to review the $3.6 billion program again in early March after a December restructuring that delayed its completion by two years.

Officials have stopped short of cancelling the OCX program, which has seen costs double due to increased cyber requirements and poor contractor performance, citing the importance of the system. OCX will be the first satellite control system designed after the advent of significant jamming and other cyber threats.

Greaves said both Kendall and Air Force Secretary Deborah James were demanding improved performance on the program by the company, but he gave no specific deadline for a decision on whether to proceed with the contract.

Kendall is expected to review a new cost estimate for the program at his next "deep dive" review, where he will meet with Raytheon Chief Executive Tom Kennedy, according to an Air Force spokeswoman.

Raytheon spokesman Mike Doble said the company was committed to delivering "without compromise" the modernized ground system and meeting all program requirements as specified by the Air Force.

Greaves said the Air Force has alternatives in case it did have to cancel the Raytheon program.

Those include a contingency plan announced earlier this month that would allow Lockheed Martin Corp, which is building the actual new Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites, to modify the current GPS ground system to work with the new satellites, he said.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and David Gregorio)

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