The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin more than $200 million in contract options to complete production of its fifth and sixth next-generation Global Positioning System satellites, known as GPS III.

In February, the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a fixed price $120 million contract to procure long lead parts for a second set of four GPS III space vehicles (SV 05-08). This new award provides funding to complete the first two satellites (SV 05-06) in this order. Full production funding for the next two space vehicles (SV 07-08) is expected in 2014.

Lockheed Martin is already under contract to produce four GPS III space vehicles (SV 01-04). The first two GPS III satellites are currently on the production floor at Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Processing Facility (GPF) in Denver, Colo.

The GPS III team is led by the Global Positioning Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. Lockheed Martin is the GPS III prime contractor with teammates Exelis, General Dynamics, Infinity Systems Engineering, Honeywell, ATK and other subcontractors.

Air Force Space Command’s 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2SOPS), based at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., manages and operates the GPS constellation for both civil and military users.

[Image courtesy: Lockheed Martin]