The Future Of GPS - Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR)

Jill A-C Hardash and Lisa R. Kirkpatrick

Abstract:	Innovative project management is a necessity in today’s military acquisition environment. The new project manager for the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR) faced the monumental task of bringing together participating acquiring agencies, actual users, and GPS industry contractors building the DAGR, before a Request for Proposal (RFP) had been written. The goal of bringing this diverse team together was to create an effective product within stringent cost, technical and quantity constraints that had already limited program progress to date. This paper describes the specific aspects of the methodology used to turn the acquisition around, how it was implemented, and results obtained. The methodology used lessons learned from previous military acquisitions and commercial programs. These lessons resulted in the implementation of a mix of education and public relations to accommodate technical challenges. Program leaders honestly communicated the unique constraints of DAGR, resulting in addressing major cost drivers such as Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) and Operations and Support (O&S) costs and obtaining overall improved requirement definition. This approach will lead a unified team to successfully provide a Precision Positioning Service (PPS) capable palm-held receiver, addressing key capabilities including SAASM, Dual frequency (L1/L2), P(Y)-code (PPS pseudo-random code), Local Areas Differential GPS (LADGPS) capability and Wide Area GPS Enhancement (WAGE) capability within the stringent per unit cost constraints. The GPS Program Office and industry have mutually agreed to invest in the DAGR’s future. This strategy will pay off, enabling maximized market research to redefine the scope of the product, resulting in modified product specifications reflecting a DAGR integrating and meeting programmatic requirements and performance thresholds and objectives that will take GPS user equipment well into the century.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 13th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 2000) September 19 - 22, 2000 Salt Palace Convention Center Salt Lake City, UT
Pages:	2105 - 2108
Cite this article:	Hardash, Jill A-C, Kirkpatrick, Lisa R., "The Future Of GPS - Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR)," Proceedings of the 13th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 2000), Salt Lake City, UT, September 2000, pp. 2105-2108.
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