GPS Modernization Stalls as Pentagon Faces Chip Shortages – Source: www.databreachtoday.com

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New Report Warns of Continued Delays and Deficiencies in Federal GPS Modernization

Chris Riotta (@chrisriotta) •
September 12, 2024    

The U.S. Department of Defense is failing to modernize the Global Positioning System with a more secure and resilient signal known as M-code while suffering from years of delays and a shortage of GPS chips and cards, according to a new report.

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The Space Force, which is responsible for federal GPS modernization efforts, has been developing military-grade M-code-capable user equipment to supply the Pentagon with a bulk buy of nearly 1 million chips, a Government Accountability Office report published Monday says. But the government watchdog said “significant work and challenges remain” because multiple delays in software development and testing “have complicated efforts” and threatened the delivery of next-generation satellites.

The Space Force aims to complete new equipment development by December 2025, enabling military departments to transition to a system that will support 24 M-code capable satellites in continuous operation through the 2030s. While some technical and manufacturing challenges have been mitigated in recent years, the GAO said “further delays could create risk to the GPS satellite constellation’s ability to provide the required 24 operational M-code-capable satellites at a high confidence level into the 2030s.”

The report comes as fighting in Ukraine against the invading Russian military has highlighted the role of GPS jamming in combat – with spillover effects reportedly felt by civilian aviation in neighboring countries. Even countries not in active combat have active jamming programs. China is widely considered responsible for the GPS interference in the Indo-Pacific region felt by commercial pilots in March 2023. “GPS spoofing has also affected maritime transportation in recent years, with research from 2019 showing hundreds of ships affected by GPS spoofing near Shanghai, although responsibility for such spoofing remains uncertain,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies said earlier this year.

Space industry executives in the U.S. have urged the White House in recent months to designate space as a critical infrastructure sector and warned against “overlooking rapidly advancing sectors like space infrastructure in national cybersecurity strategies” (see: Experts Say White House Memo Overlooks Space Cyber Risks).

The Space Force’s GPS Next Generation Operational Control System program – otherwise known as the OCX program – faces continued “development challenges” despite clearing a significant testing milestone in 2023, the GAO said. The program still must complete a series of government-led developmental testing “to demonstrate readiness for the transition of the GPS satellite constellation to OCX control,” the report says.

According to the GAO, system-level qualification testing for the new system “was marked by significant challenges that drove delays to the program’s schedule,” including software deficiencies across multiple areas, such as the integration of the navigation system with OCX subsystems and instability in the GPS System Simulator.

“As result of such shortcomings, the OCX program halted the dry run testing for 5 months,” the GAO said, adding that “software deficiencies continued to impede progress” when testing resumed in spring 2023. Program officials told the government watchdog a backlog of deficiencies “was anticipated during qualification testing,” after officials discovered 116 software-related critical deficiencies and 192 platform-related critical deficiencies.

The GAO said the OCX program has since continued to discover “additional deficiencies” and added that the Army and Navy have made progress advancing their own M-code capable equipment. The Navy and Air Force are planning an interim solution, according to the report, which would involve providing M-code capabilities to some of their current receivers in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.