Mary-Louise Hoffman
U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch has said the military service could seek approval from the U.S. Defense Department in 2016 to launch a competitive bidding process for GPS III satellite development contracts, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
“We want to get competition as much as we can so that we can try to drive down costs,” Bunch told Bloomberg reporter Anthony Capaccio in an interview.
Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract in 2008 to build up to eight GPS III satellites and is scheduled to deliver its first satellite under the program in August 2016, the publication reports.
The Air Force is looking to buy 22 additional GPS III satellites through a competitive procurement.
Capaccio writes the Air Force launched a production readiness assessment in a move to identify vendors that aim to compete in the program.
Spokesmen for Boeing and Northrop Grumman told Bloomberg the companies want to separately pursue GPS III contracts if the military branch decides to open competition.
