The US Air Force has formally taken over management of two military GPS receiver modernization programs in a move aimed at accelerating the delivery of more resilient navigation capabilities to US forces.
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center officially assumed responsibility for the Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 1 and Increment 2 programs from the US Space Force after signing the Military GPS User Equipment Transition Support Plan.
MGUE Increment 1 and Increment 2 introduce upgraded GPS receivers capable of operating in contested electromagnetic environments through enhanced anti-jamming and anti-spoofing technologies.
The transfer centralizes development, acquisition, and sustainment of military Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) user equipment under the M-Code Aviation Receivers Joint Program Office, allowing the service to oversee the systems throughout their entire lifecycle.
The transition began in November 2024 with the creation of the M-Code Aviation Receivers Joint Program Office.
US Expands Resilient PNT Modernization
The MGUE transition is one of several recent US efforts to strengthen resilient PNT capabilities as military operations become increasingly vulnerable to GPS disruption.
In July, the US Army awarded Pacific Defense a contract to develop the next generation of its Assured PNT plug-in card, advancing the service’s modular navigation architecture for military vehicles under the CMOSS Mounted Form Factor program.
In June, Apogee Engineering secured a $103.6-million contract to provide PNT services and technical support across multiple US Air Force installations.
Earlier, in April, Northrop Grumman delivered the first production unit of its modernized Embedded GPS/Inertial Navigation System, combining inertial sensors with satellite navigation to maintain accurate positioning even when GPS signals are degraded or denied.
