SPAWAR plans for GPS system software advances

The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command is considering its acquisition approach for a follow-on contract to continue developing the Global Positioning System-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Services (GPNTS) system software.

The planned scope of work would include engineering, development, and test activities on a two-year build cycle. The cycle would allow officials to address out-of-date commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies, information assurance, defect resolution, and platform integration.

GPNTS receives, processes, and then distributes three-dimensional position, velocity, acceleration, attitude, time and frequency in the formats required by shipboard user systems. The Navy uses GPNTS on vessels as diverse as carriers, guided missile cruisers and destroyers, as well as fixed-wing aircraft.

The GPNTS system is currently being developed using a commercial, open-systems architecture approach, to meet user requirements in a net-centric service-oriented architecture (SOA) environment.

The military intends to use the Rapid Integration Test Environment (RITE) Enterprise Cloud Development Environment to keep the GPNTS baseline.

Raytheon was awarded the GPNTS development contract in 2011.

SPAWAR’s RFI supports the Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (PEO C4I) Communications and GPS Navigation Program Office.

SPAWAR released the RFI Feb. 9. Responses are due by March 10.