Boeing

A team of four global information industry leaders has been selected by The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] to pursue a Global Positioning System (GPS) III architecture study that will help define the path for the future of navigation and timing, Boeing announced today.

Boeing, a premier developer of navigation systems and an integrator of large-scale systems, will lead the team comprised of Hughes Space and Communications Company, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Lockheed Martin Management & Data Systems (M&DS) and Raytheon Company.

"Defining the attributes of future precision navigation and timing systems is a complex and challenging job that requires a vision of a future of accelerating change," said Carl O'Berry, vice president and general manager of Government Information & Communications Systems (GI&CS), the business area responsible for managing Boeing navigation programs activity.

"Boeing has assembled a team of innovative industry leaders who will concentrate and leverage the most extensive understanding of user requirements, GPS lessons learned, commercial initiatives and emerging technologies to define innovative GPS III best-value architecture recommendations," O'Berry added.

The GPS III architecture study will assess mission needs and requirements of the existing satellite-based navigation system, and will validate their achievability by developing innovative architecture recommendations. A contract will be awarded in late October 2000 with work scheduled to begin in November.

The program will evolve into the next-generation GPS satellite, ground control and user equipment segments. GPS III will provide future users with unprecedented navigation and timing accuracy, system availability and enhanced user services, particularly for civil users.

The Boeing GPS III team is poised to leverage its unsurpassed GPS domain knowledge, along with a broad military, commercial and civil understanding and technology initiatives, to develop a flexible solution that will satisfy military and civil users for the next 30 years.

Hughes Space and Communications Company, a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation, is the world's leading satellite manufacturer, producing state-of-the-art space and communications systems for military, commercial and scientific users. The company has achieved an unparalleled record of more than 1,000 years of in-orbit experience. Current government programs include the next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), and the Ultra High Frequency Follow-On (UHF F/O) satellites, and participation on the Advanced Extremely High Frequency National Team and the Milstar Team. Hughes will have responsibility for the space element.

CSC has more than 30 years of experience developing satellite ground control systems and architectures for the U.S. Air Force, NASA and others. The company is also one of the largest information engineering contractors for the U.S. Government and is one of the world's largest commercial outsourcing and business process reengineering companies. CSC, along with Boeing and Lockheed Martin M&DS will support the ground element.

Lockheed Martin M&DS is an industry leader in technically advanced systems engineering, systems integration, information technology, sensor processing, communications systems and program management. The company brings 20 years of experience in the design, development and sustainment of the GPS Operational Control Segment to the Boeing GPS III Team. Lockheed will join Boeing and CSC in supporting the ground element.

Raytheon Company is a global leader in defense electronics and complex integrated information systems, and provides international experience and resources necessary to ensure a low-risk program. Raytheon Electronics Systems is a leader in military GPS user equipment and related technologies and, with support from the Command, Control, Communications and Information (C3I) segment, will lead the user element supported by Boeing.

The Navstar GPS is a U.S. Department of Defense satellite-based radio navigation system. Originally developed to aid military navigation, GPS has revolutionized both timing and navigation. The system is currently used on military, civil and commercial airplanes, ships and boats, automobiles and emergency vehicles. New applications are being developed every day.

For nearly three decades Boeing has played a key role in what has become a vital worldwide utility. Boeing designed and built 40 first- and second-generation Navstar GPS satellites for the U.S. Air Force, and continues to provide launch and on-orbit support from Shriever Air Force Base in Colorado. In April 1996, Boeing was selected by the U.S. Air Force to design, develop and produce the next generation of GPS satellites, Block IIF. Up to 12 Block IIF spacecraft will be built through 2009.

Boeing is responsible for integrating the upgrade of the Air Force GPS Operational Control Segment to incorporate new computing and software capabilities, and most recently has responded to the Air Force GPS Joint Program Office's need for advanced GPS concepts by performing U.S. Air Force-directed GPS Modernization special studies, the Navigation Warfare study, and internal research and development efforts.

Additionally, Boeing is a supplier of specialized user equipment and receiver designs that incorporate GPS, including precise timing, search and rescue operations, and vehicle tracking.

GPS III program activity will be managed out of Boeing GI&CS headquarters in Anaheim, Calif.