The Government Accountability Office has called on the Defense Department to designate an organization that will oversee the collection of test data, design platforms and lessons learned to facilitate coordination as DoD works to deploy new GPS receiver cards.
GAO said in a report published Tuesday such an organization could help prevent duplication and advance the adoption of common design tools as program offices independently develop, test and install Military-code receiver cards into several weapon systems.
The new M-code receiver is part of the second program initiated by the U.S. Air Force to address delays in the development of a new ground control system, OCX, for the GPS III satellite constellation.
The M-code Early Use program seeks to modify the current ground control platform in order to deliver an encrypted temporary GPS signal to warfighters.
GAO said the preliminary cost estimate to test a small number of weapon systems that require the M-code receiver cards is worth approximately $2.5 billion through fiscal 2021.
Those include 72 partially funded and 28 fully funded weapons systems.
Some of the weapons systems that need GPS receiver cards include aircraft carriers, submarines, fighter jets, bombers, battle tanks, personnel carriers, missiles, rockets and other munitions.
