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Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) said it has completed the “core mate” phase for GPS IIIF Space Vehicle 11 (SV11), a key production milestone that marks the satellite’s formal birth. The company described the step as further momentum in building out the next block of GPS spacecraft designed to bolster reliable global coverage and add new resilience features to the constellation.
The GPS IIIF series introduces Regional Military Protection, which the company says improves anti-jamming capability by more than sixty times to help counter sophisticated electronic warfare threats.
SV11 is the third GPS IIIF satellite to pass core mate, following SV13 and SV14 last year. Despite the numbering, SV11 is slated to be the first of the IIIF block to launch.
“Core mate of SV11 showcases the production momentum behind the next-generation GPS IIIF satellites as we continue to invest in advanced manufacturing,” said Christina Mancinelli, vice president of Global Communications & Navigation at Lockheed Martin. “With three GPS IIIF satellites past core mate, we’ve taken pivotal steps toward accelerating production, ensuring we’re delivering critical next-generation resiliency capabilities to the GPS constellation at the pace warfighters need to protect our nation.”
SV11 is M-Code-enabled to provide encrypted, anti-spoofing positioning, navigation and timing services for military users, and it carries a new search and rescue payload intended to help first responders reach emergencies in remote areas.
Beginning with SV13, all GPS IIIF satellites will use Lockheed Martin’s evolved LM2100 Combat Bus, adding cyber-hardening along with upgraded power, propulsion and electronics. The design provides additional size, weight and power margins to speed integration of future payloads.
The GPS IIIF spacecraft are being built at the company’s Denver facility, where production is being accelerated with augmented reality tools and digital twins. Lockheed Martin is under contract through SV22 and recently completed all launches of the preceding GPS III satellites.
