据外电综合报道：

    By Andrea Shalal-Esa

    WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department's

    chief arms buyer approved on Friday the next phase of the

    Global Positioning System navigation tool, paving the way for a

    multibillion-dollar contract award this month.

    Boeing Co <BA.N> and Lockheed Martin Corp <LMT.N> are

    competing for a contract valued at around $1.8 billion to build

    the first eight satellites of the next-generation GPS III

    system.

    An Air Force spokeswoman said the service still hoped to

    announce the contract award this month.

    GPS satellites, in one of six Earth orbits, circle the

    globe every 12 hours. beaming navigation and precise time

    signals used for everything from mapping to business

    transactions and modern warfare.

    GPS III will feature a military signal called the M-code

    with greater signal power, to boost resistance to jamming,

    perceived as a growing threat.

    It will also incorporate a new civil signal making it

    capable of working with Europe's Galileo navigation system.

    Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne is due to meet on May 13

    with Gary Payton, the Air Force official in charge of space

    programs, to finalize the award, with an announcement expected

    later in the week, said two sources familiar with process.

    Pentagon acquisition chief John Young signed an acquisition

    decision memorandum for the GPS III program after "a thorough

    independent program assessment," according to a Pentagon

    statement.

    Young directed the Air Force to consider ways to deliver

    the program within or below budget and to set up a system that

    rewards specific program accomplishments "more carefully and on

    a more objective basis."

    Defense analyst Loren Thompson of the private Lexington

    Institute predicted Lockheed would win the contract, given long

    delays on work done by Boeing on a previous GPS program.

    "The vast majority of observers expect Lockheed to win

    because they performed well on their previous GPS II contract,

    while Boeing is running four years late on its," said Thompson,

    a consultant to Lockheed and other defense companies who has

    close ties to the Air Force.

    The first of the new GPS III satellites is to be launched

    in 2014.

    The Air Force has said it plans to stick with a single

    prime contractor for eight more satellites in a second GPS III

    batch and 16 in a third.

    A total of 18 satellites are required to start operating

    the new system as projected by 2018, with 24 needed for full

    operation.

     (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

     ((andrea.shalal-esa@reuters.com; 1 202 354 5807; Reuters

    Messaging: andrea.shalal-esa.reuters.com@reuters.net))

    Keywords: USA GPS/AIRFORCE

    Keywords: USA GPS/AIRFORCE

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