Lockheed to build GPS III satellites

The Washington Post (5/16, D1, Hedgepeth, Goldfarb) reports on the front page of its Business section, "The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $1.5 billion contract to build the military's next generation of navigation satellites, crucial for the growing demand by the military, companies and consumers for technology that pinpoints and tracks location." The contract covers the development and construction of two Global Positioning System III "satellites, with an option for 10 more, the first batch of the constellation." Further, "the Pentagon has said that it would probably order 20 satellites on top of that."

The Wall Street Journal (5/16, B3) adds that "the program...will have the satellites into service as soon as 2014."

In the meantime, the Los Angeles Times (5/16, Pae) characterizes the development as "another blow to Boeing Co.'s battered defense business." Boeing was also competing for the contract.

Bloomberg (5/16, Lococo, Ratnam), the AP (5/16, Tessler), Reuters (5/16, Wolf), the Chicago Tribune (5/16), the Philadelphia Inquirer (5/15, Holcomb), Defense News (5/16, Putrich), Aviation Week (5/15, Butler), and the Rocky Mountain News (5/15, Fillion) also reported the story.