ATC
DOD Seeks Options for Forging Ahead on GPS III
GPS satellite
With the launch of the first next-generation GPS III satellites planned for 2016, the DOD is looking for ways to reduce costs in line with today’s budget realities while ensuring the utility airspace users expect in the future. © Lockheed Martin

With the continuing strains on the U.S. national budget and the possibility that the Administration’s sequestration program could last for several more years, Pentagon planners are said to be worrying that the costs of the future GPS III system could become out of reach, despite its major advances and the need to have modernized replacement satellites ready to be deployed as the orbital lives of current satellites end.