More information on key cost drivers, cost estimates...
More information on key cost drivers, cost estimates and broader input from stakeholders would help guide future investment decisions on lower-cost solutions for GPS capability, found a GAO study (http://1.usa.gov/17VS9Ud). Without a more comprehensive assessment that addresses each of these…
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concerns, “the Air Force is not yet in a position to make sound future GPS investments,” GAO said in response to the Air Force report, Lower Cost Solutions for Providing Global Positioning System Capability. The future GPS options presented and evaluated in the report are based on a GPS constellation of 30 satellites, “whereas the Air Force’s requirement is for a 24-satellite constellation,” said GAO. The larger constellation assumption has a significant effect on the cost of the options studied, it said. It’s unclear whether investment costs for these options will in fact be lower than the baseline cost of the current GPS III program, it said: Basing all options on a 30-satellite constellation “may actually increase the overall GPS investment because the limited differences between the options assessed narrows the range of costs across the seven options that rely on a core of GPS III satellites.” GAO also found that the Air Force didn’t fully consider the cost impact of its dual launch approach. Cost savings may eventually be accrued from dual launches, but the Air Force’s report “doesn’t address the acquisition and operations strategy -- what is necessary to buy and conduct dual launches up front,” said GAO. It urged the Defense Department to affirm the future GPS constellation size that the Air Force plans to support and to ensure that future assessments are comprehensive.