Pictured is a “weaponized” Gray Eagle drone (General Atomics Photo)
Last fall, U.S. Space Force decided to switch the lead platform for the Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 1 aviation card from the Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to the Army Gray Eagle drone, the head of Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) said on March 3.
“The biggest thing on MGUE 1 is the lead platform changed to the Army’s Gray Eagle,” Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant told reporters at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Warfare Symposium when asked about the latest developments in MGUE. “The card-level certification is anticipated this summer. The Army program manager…tells me his test is on track for this year for the aviation platform.”
Northrop Grumman is the B-2 contractor, General Atomics the Gray Eagle.
The MGUE Increment 1 program had planned to begin a year-long combined developmental and operational testing on the B-2 in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024.
L3Harris Technologies, RTX and BAE Systems have received MGUE contracts.
Since the late 1990s, the Pentagon has been developing the GPS M-code to have a stronger signal and more advanced encryption to counter jamming and spoofing, and the first GPS M-code capable satellite went aloft in 2005. But GPS M-code initial operational capability has seen delays due to required upgrades of ground and user equipment for hundreds of vehicles, ships, and aircraft.
Turning around satellite ground system program performance was a primary, stated focus area of former space acquisition chief Frank Calvelli, and MGUE was one of three programs he said were of particular concern in December.
A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.