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 General John Hyten, commander of Air Force Space Command, spoke
after attending a session on the program last Friday led by the
Pentagon's chief arms buyer, Frank Kendall.
Air Force spokeswoman Captain Annmarie Annicelli said the Air Force
would develop new cost estimates for the troubled GPS Operational
Control System, or OCX, to reflect an additional two-year delay in
completing its development.
Air Force officials earlier this year said the program had an 80.5
percent cost increase, to $1.6 billion, and a two-year delay due to
increased cyber security requirements and issues with the
contractor's performance.
 Hyten, speaking with reporters after an event, said Raytheon had
completed an initial system called Block 0 to launch and fly the
satellites, but more sophisticated software was needed to take full
advantage of all the GPS signals over the longer term.
He said the Air Force initially underestimated the challenge of
securing the system from cyber attacks and later had to revise its
approach. But he said Raytheon also "did a really bad job" of
systems engineering before it began developing software code.
"The OCX program is a disaster, just a disaster, and it’s
embarrassing to have to stand in front of people and try to defend
it, so I won't," Hyten told the event. "When you start down a path
and you basically can’t deliver and you keep pushing the system out
to the right, and you keep pouring money at it, and the contractor
does not deliver, you’re in a tough spot."
Matt Gilligan, Raytheon's vice president for navigation and
environmental solutions, said the company was focused on continued
development of the system.
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"We are fully committed to delivering, without compromise, the
modernized GPS ground controls envisioned and required by the Air
Force," Gilligan said in a statement to Reuters.
Kendall last week told reporters the department was looking at a
range of options for the program, including opening part of the work
to a new competition. Neither the Pentagon nor the Air Force had any
immediate comment on Tuesday on possible further steps to open part
of the work to competition.
The OCX system is to allow the Air Force to operate its newest GPS
III, or global positioning system, satellites to help the military
target weapons strikes, provide critical timing information and
deliver critical services for industry.
Lockheed Martin Corp's program to build the GPS III satellites also
ran into trouble, but is back on track after delays involving a
sensor built by Exelis Inc, which is now owned by Harris Corp.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Frances Kerry and Dan
Grebler)
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