- A $6.27 billion GPS overhaul collapsed due to persistent technical failures
- Test exposed system flaws that put global GPS reliability at risk
- The US Space Force abandoned the project after the schedule became operationally irrelevant.
The US Space Force has terminated the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) program after discovering significant system issues that made on-time delivery impossible.
The objective of this program was to modernize the command and control of the GPS satellite constellation.
However, after multiple attempts and collaborations, the Defense Acquisition Executive could no longer ignore its inefficiencies and had to let it go.
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What went wrong with the $6.27 billion program?
As of January 2026, the OCX program has cost approximately $6.27 billion, including funding from Raytheon and government testing costs.
The Space Force contractually accepted OCX from Raytheon in July 2025 after factory testing and then began extensive integrated systems testing.
During this testing phase, officials discovered issues across a wide range of capability areas that would endanger current military and civilian GPS capabilities.
The system was intended to replace the current Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) and Launch, Anomaly, and Disposal Operations System.
Instead, the Space Force determined that additional investment in OCX was no longer the best solution to protect and advance GPS capabilities.
The Space Force has moved away
To try to make the system work, the government and the contractor team took a collaborative approach.
However, it has become clear that integrating OCX within a relevant operational time frame is virtually impossible.
“Unfortunately, significant system issues arose during OCX’s integrated testing with the GPS enterprise as a whole,” said Col. Stephen Hobbs, Delta 31 Mission Commander.
“The challenges of integrating the system within a relevant operational timeframe proved insurmountable.”
Canceling a $6.27 billion program after years of development is a clear admission of failure. However, the Space Force had to decide whether to withdraw or invest more money on an insurmountable timeline, and it chose the former.
In the future, instead of completing the OCX, the Space Force will continue to improve the current control system to operate the GPS satellite constellation.
It has made incremental improvements to the existing AEP system over the past ten years due to past OCX delays.
These successful upgrades provide assurance that further improvements to ground GPS systems will continue to support the business.
“It is important that we refine and update acquisition processes to prioritize the rapid, incremental delivery of capabilities rather than the delivery of complex ‘all or nothing’ systems,” said Tom Ainsworth, Acting Manager of Service Acquisitions.
“The War Department has made it clear that we must deliver warfighting capabilities more quickly. We must continue to work with industry to meet the needs of our warfighters while focusing on delivering the right technology in the appropriate time frame to enhance our capabilities and maintain our space superiority.”
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