Electronic warfare

US To Procure Jam-Resistant GPS Satellites

The U.S. Air Force wants 22 new GPS satellites that are built to resist jamming and electronic interference. The service expects to spend $2 billion on the new satellites for the GPS 3 constellation in the next five years. The production of all 22 satellites is expected to be worth as much as $10 billion, as reported by popularmechanics.com.

“The GPS 3 that we are moving toward is more jam-resistant, and it is intended to be able to operate in a contested environment,” Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson told reporters.

The constellation of 31 GPS 2 satellites currently in orbit will remain operational until at least 2021. The Air Force has already ordered 10 GPS 3 satellites from Lockheed Martin to start replacing the older GPS 2 network, with the first GPS 3 sat launching in March 2018 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. However, the Air Force has now decided it needs to quit buying up those GPS 3 satellites and go back to the drawing board.