WASHINGTON — The Defense Department’s Next Generation Operational Control System, the ground segment meant to run a modernized GPS constellation, was canceled in April 2026 after development that began in 2010. That finding anchors a Government Accountability Office report released Oct. 7, 2026, which also found that the Army’s new GPS receivers will not be fielded across all of its aircraft until 2049.
The report covers the full sweep of military positioning, navigation and timing, or PNT. Its central point is that the services are fielding new capabilities on separate tracks, and that the delays in one piece ripple into the rest.
GAO’s report GAO-27-107676, titled “Precision Navigation Systems: Challenges Remain with Fielding New Capabilities,” says DOD’s GPS modernization “continues to face delays” and that the department canceled the ground control system, known as OCX, “after years of delays.” Congress required the review, according to GAO, which examined program progress, receiver development and fielding, and DOD’s oversight of its PNT portfolio.
OCX: started in 2010, terminated in 2026
GAO states it plainly: “The ground system, referred to as Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX), began development in 2010.” According to the report, DOD “canceled development of its multi-billion-dollar effort to develop a modernized ground control system,” citing ongoing technical issues. The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment directed the Air Force to formally terminate the OCX program in April 2026, GAO reports.
In its place, that office “designated AEP Modernization (AEP-M) as the new GPS ground control effort,” per the report. GAO describes AEP-M as a multi-phase modification to the existing Operational Control Segment, known as OCS-AEP, rather than a new system.
The change carries a cost for the satellites already in the pipeline. The Space Force had planned to use OCX to control its GPS IIIF satellites, and GAO reports that program officials said the cancellation “creates schedule risk for the incorporation of these satellites into the GPS constellation.” GPS IIIF deliveries themselves reflect “an average delay of 9 months” since the program adopted a revised delivery schedule in December 2024, according to the report. GAO describes the current constellation as “approximately 31 medium Earth orbiting satellites, with at least 24 continuously broadcasting.”
M-code receivers and the 2049 date
The other half of GPS modernization is on the user end. DOD has spent decades adding a military signal called M-code to GPS to counter evolving threats, GAO says, and each service must buy and install receivers that can use it.
For Army aviation, that receiver is the EAGLE-M, which GAO describes as “a replacement for its legacy EGI receivers.” The Army “started initial fielding in November 2024 on the Army’s UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter,” the report says. The finish line is far off: “full fielding across all Army aviation platforms will not be achieved until 2049,” according to the full GAO report, with Army officials citing current priorities and funding levels.
The other services are at different stages. GAO found the Air Force is making progress on M-code receiver cards but still faces fielding and integration challenges, including with its aviation receiver programs. The Navy is developing an interim solution so its aircraft can use M-code. The Army and Navy are fielding M-code-capable and multi-PNT receivers in ground vehicles, ships and Army aircraft, and all the services are working to fold complementary PNT data into those multi-PNT receivers, the report says.
Three recommendations on consolidation
GAO’s diagnosis is fragmentation. The report says separate efforts across the services make it harder to finish M-code and PNT work on time. Congress mandated a PNT Oversight Council, and DOD established it “with the mission of overseeing the department’s PNT portfolio,” per GAO. The council, led by the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff together with the under secretary offices for research and engineering and for acquisition and sustainment, can recommend priorities, but the services control their own budgets, GAO notes.
GAO pointed to consolidation as a way to line up schedules and funding, citing the Air Force’s combined approach to aircraft PNT receivers and M-code receiver cards. The report makes three recommendations to DOD: that the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, including the Space Force, each assess whether consolidating their GPS modernization and complementary PNT efforts would improve strategic alignment, and then develop consolidation plans. GAO names the Air Force’s M-code Aviation Receiver Joint Program Office as a model.
DOD concurred with all three recommendations, according to GAO, and the agency lists all three as open. The next marker on the GPS side is the AEP-M ground-control work that now replaces OCX.
Top image: A rocket carrying the GPS III SV09 satellite lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Image Credit: U.S. Space Force photo by Gwendolyn Kurzen — Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Combat Rated editors prior to publication.