USAF Space Commander Blasts Raytheon’s OCX GPS Control System

Raytheon's GPS control system is 'a disaster': U.S. Air Force general | Reuters

Gen. John E. Hyten
New AFSPC Commander
| Inside GNSS

General Hyten said the Air Force initially underestimated the challenge of securing the system from cyber attacks and later had to revise its approach. But he said Raytheon also "did a really bad job" of systems engineering before it began developing software code.
"The OCX program is a disaster, just a disaster, and it’s embarrassing to have to stand in front of people and try to defend it, so I won't," Hyten told the event. "When you start down a path and you basically can’t deliver and you keep pushing the system out to the right, and you keep pouring money at it, and the contractor does not deliver, you’re in a tough spot."

Raytheon: GPS OCX
The GPS system and its signals are measured by accuracy, availability, and integrity. By all three measures, the new GPS OCX system is scheduled deliver enormous improvements and enhancements, thereby dramatically increasing the performance and effectiveness of the entire GPS system. For example, the new Kalman filter that is at the heart of the GPS OCX navigation solution will double the accuracy of the current system for all users. GPS OCX will lift lift the current limit on the number of satellites in the GPS constellation, allowing more satellites and better geometry in hard-to-reach areas such as urban canyons and mountainous terrain. In addition, digital signatures will be employed on all critical OCX external interfaces to ensure the information has not been tampered with and can be trusted by users.
OCX Program Restructured, Delayed Again | Inside GNSS
Details are emerging about another restructuring of the contract for the new GPS ground system, a deal that pushes completion of the project back another two years and recasts the remaining work to fit within the Air Force’s strained financial profile.
Called the Next Generation Operational Control System, or OCX, the new ground system involves a rebuilding nearly from scratch of the infrastructure that monitors and controls the GPS satellite constellation. Project terms call for prime contractor Raytheon to replace or refresh all the hardware and software at the Master Control Station at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, and the Alternate Master Control Station at Vandenberg Air Force Base as well as upgrading four legacy antennas and 17 monitoring stations scattered around the world. The company will also install all new hardware and software into an existing building at Schriever to create a transition software facility.
The new schedule delays the delivery of the full OCX system by another 23 months to 2018 — about two years after the first of the new GPS Block III satellites is supposed to be available for launch and three years after OCX was originally supposed to be completed.
 
US Air Force General Blasts Raytheon’s 'Disaster' GPS Control System

But the Pentagon isn’t too happy with the progress. For one, the project has proven remarkably expensive. Despite initial cost estimates, the project has ballooned by more than 80%, reaching $1.6 billion. Raytheon has also delayed the roll out by two years, citing problems in adjusting to shifting cybersecurity needs.

These mounting problems have drawn fierce – and public – criticism from the commander of US Air Force Space Command, General John Hyten.
"The OCX program is a disaster, just a disaster, and it’s embarrassing to have to stand in front of people and try to defend it, so I won’t," Hyten told reporters during an event hosted by the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute.

GAO-15-657, GPS: Actions Needed to Address Ground System Development Problems and User Equipment Produciton Readiness - 672367.pdf