Raytheon, Northrop vie for US navigation contract
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, April 11 (Reuters) - Raytheon Co. (RTN.N) and Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC.N) said Wednesday they had submitted rival bids to upgrade the U.S. Global Positioning System's ground controls in a project that industry sources said could be worth $1 billion.
The first phase of the contract, known as the next-generation Control Segment, or OCX, is valued at $160 million. A contract is expected to be awarded in late summer or early fall by the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California.
Subsequent phases of the work could boost the project's value to $1 billion, industry sources said at a space-industry conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Global Positioning System is used by the military for precision strikes and by civilians for navigating in cars, boats and on foot, among other things.
OCX is to provide command, control and mission support for the current GPS constellation as well as the next-generation GPS Block 3 satellites.
Separately, Raytheon said it would vie against Harris Corp. (HRS.N) for a projected seven-year, $455 million contract to support a number of Department of Defense space systems at locations around the world.
At issue is the Network and Space Operations & Maintenance contract, or NSOM, expected to be awarded late this year. It is administered by the Air Force Space Command's 50th Space Wing, Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.
