Harris Corp. has delivered the navigation payload for the third GPS III satellite.
The payload was delivered to GPS III satellite manufacturer Lockheed Martin. “The advanced navigation payloads feature a Mission Data Unit (MDU) with a unique 70-percent digital design that links atomic clocks, radiation-hardened computers and powerful transmitters – enabling signals three times more accurate than those on current GPS satellites,” said a Harris news release. “The new payloads also boost satellite signal power, increase jamming resistance by eight times and help extend the satellite’s lifespan.”
The navigation payload will be integrated into the GPS III SV-03 satellite this summer.
Experts say balloons loitering at high altitudes can offer some advantages over satellites and drones — and could at least augment ISR capabilities.
Biden said he wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday, but was advised the best time for the operation would be when it was over water.
Inking multiyear procurement contracts is a good first step towards reinvigorating the defense industrial base, especially when it comes to munitions.
The Pulse program took five months to pull together. Such a pace, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said, was an “extraordinary feat."
The U.S. announced Friday it will send Ukraine the Boeing-made ground-launched small-diameter bomb, a weapon that can double its strike range.