Space Force kills OCX GPS ground control system, citing ‘insurmountable’ challenges

WASHINGTON — The Space Force has cancelled the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) contract, a bitter denouement for the troubled program after years of delays and programmatic woes for prime contractor RTX.

Officials terminated the project to develop a new ground control system for GPS satellites on April 17th, after they determined OCX “was unable to deliver needed capabilities on an operationally relevant timeline at an acceptable level of risk to meet the GPS constellation modernization needs,” according to a Space Force press release published today.

“It’s important we refine and update acquisition processes to prioritize rapid, incremental capability delivery versus complex ‘all or nothing’ system deliveries,” Tom Ainsworth, the Space Force’s acting service acquisition executive, said in the release. Ainsworth recommended the cancellation. 

“The Department of War has made clear that we need to deliver warfighting capability at a faster rate. We must continue to work with industry to meet the needs of our warfighters as we focus on delivering the right technology on the right timeline to enhance our capabilities and maintain space superiority,” he added.

The Space Force formally accepted OCX from contractor RTX last year. But since then, officials have said they discovered more problems with the software-heavy program, placing its fate in doubt. 

“Regrettably, extensive system issues arose during the integrated testing of OCX with the broader GPS enterprise,” Col. Stephen Hobbs, Mission Delta 31 commander, said in the Space Force’s release. “Despite repeated collaborative approaches by the entire government and contractor team, the challenges of onboarding the system in an operationally relevant timeline proved insurmountable. We discovered problems across a broad range of capability areas that would put current GPS military and civilian capabilities at risk.”

An RTX spokesperson said in a statement to Breaking Defense that the company “is aware of the U.S. Government decision regarding the GPS OCX program. Raytheon delivered the system in 2025 and has continued to support the U.S. Space Force in post-delivery activities. We remain committed to supporting our customers and will work closely with the government on the next steps.”

OCX, originally anticipated to be ready in 2016, has long been a poster child for broken space acquisition programs. As of January 2026, the Space Force said $6.27 billion was spent on the now-defunct project, a number that included “complete Raytheon funding” along with “other government costs” — billions of dollars more than an earlier projection of $3.7 billion. (Raytheon is a subsidiary of RTX.)

The Space Force planned to request roughly $332 million for the project in the fiscal 2027 budget, according to documents released by the Defense Department earlier this month. 

The Space Force over the years has opted to upgrade the current GPS ground system, called the Architecture Evolution Plan, amid delays for OCX. The Space Force recently awarded Lockheed Martin a $105 million contract for related work, which aims to control current GPS satellites and a forthcoming batch dubbed GPS IIIF.

“Ultimately, we analyzed the work remaining on OCX and compared this with the current GPS control system capability,” Hobbs said. “The analysis revealed additional investment in OCX was no longer the best solution for protecting and advancing GPS capabilities. Instead, we will continue enhancing the current control system to operate the GPS satellite constellation.”