Space Systems Command Looks Ahead to New Era of GPS Success

June 1, 2026

Space Systems Command, El Segundo, CA

The final GPS III satellite includes a development payload that will test optical crosslink capabilities to enable faster tasking of GPS satellites. There is also a new space-qualified atomic clock to enhance precision and timing, and the first use of a 3D printed omnidirectional antenna on a GPS satellite. Pictured here is the finished final GPS-III satellite at Lockheed Martin’s facility. (Image: Lockheed Martin)

With the successful launch of the 10th Global Positioning System III satellite on April 21 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, Space Systems Command is celebrating the start of a new era for the world’s premier GPS constellation.

“This milestone satellite launch completes GPS Block III,” said Erin Carper, Acting Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Satellite Communications and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) at SSC. “Providing critical military and civil signal accuracy 24/7, GPS continues to underpin global military operations for our warfighters.”

The GPS III series is the third generation of the U.S. Space Force’s GPS satellites and consists of ten 5,000-pound satellites manufactured by Lockheed Martin, with the first launched in 2018. These satellites followed the Boeing-built GPS IIF series of 12 satellites.

In addition to providing more accurate positioning, navigation, and timing capabilities, GPS III satellites are the first to broadcast Military Code (M-code), the military’s encrypted GPS signal designed to provide more secure, jam-resistant signals. Fittingly, the final GPS III launch was named after Hedy Lamarr, who pioneered jam-resistant communication during World War II.

Compared to previous iterations of GPS, the GPS III series provides eight times the anti-jamming capability and four times the accuracy of previous iterations. Remarkably, GPS satellites operate some 12,550 miles above the surface of the Earth, but they are so accurate they can pinpoint an area as small as a single football.

Setting the Standard for the World

The U.S. Department of War started developing GPS in 1973; prototype satellites were launched in 1978, and the constellation became fully operational with 24 satellites in 1993. In addition to providing PNT signals, GPS satellites also host the Nuclear Detonation Detection System from the National Nuclear Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy.

“The earliest versions of GPS were created in a time when space was largely benign, and the U.S. didn’t have to worry about adversaries attempting to jam or spoof GPS signals,” said USSF Col. Neil Barnas, Commander of Space Systems Command’s System Delta 831.

Today, adversaries have developed capabilities that can jam GPS signals or intercept and replace them with signals sending spoofed data. With these threats in mind, the GPS III series was designed in the mid-2010s to include state-of-the-art technology, including high-powered amplifiers to produce the very complex M-code using advanced cryptography.

“The M-code capability that we are launching on SV10 (Space Vehicle 10) in 2026 provides a very robust PNT capability that will serve my children and grandchildren for many years to come,” Barnas said.

GPS IIIF: the Next Generation

The next generation of satellites, known as GPS III Follow-on, or GPS IIIF, are in production by Lockheed Martin, and will begin launching as early as 2028. GPS IIIF will include a new capability called Regional Military Protection that will add even more anti-jam protection.

“The continued expansion and growth of GPS jamming is the most prevalent threat that the GPS user segment experiences on a day-to-day basis,” Barnas said.

Although GPS’s Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) orbit makes them less of a target than satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Barnas noted that adversaries are developing counterspace technologies that can reach all altitudes.

“As we think about 2026 and beyond, we have to be very thoughtful of the counterspace environment,” he said. “Our adversaries have developed exquisite counterspace systems that put our architectures at risk – so we’re thinking about our counter moves that we can do.”

This article was written by Lisa Sodders for Space Systems Command. For more information visit here .