Lockheed Martin has completed the “core mate” production phase for GPS IIIF Space Vehicle 11, the assembly milestone that formally marks a satellite’s structural birth. SV11 will be the first GPS IIIF satellite to launch, though no launch date has been announced.
SV11 is the third GPS IIIF satellite to complete core mate, following SV13 and SV14, which reached the same milestone last year. The sequencing reflects a deliberate production strategy — later vehicles in the block were structurally completed first as the line ramped up.
SV11 is M-Code-enabled, providing an encrypted, anti-spoofing signal for military PNT users, and carries a new search and rescue payload designed to improve first-responder navigation in remote environments.
Beginning with SV13, all GPS IIIF satellites will be built on the LM2100 Combat Bus, which adds cyber-hardening and improvements to spacecraft power, propulsion, and electronics, along with additional size, weight, and power margins for future payload integration.
GPS IIIF satellites are manufactured at Lockheed Martin’s Denver facility, where the company is using augmented reality and digital twins to accelerate production. Lockheed Martin is currently under contract through GPS IIIF SV22.
Christina Mancinelli, vice president of Global Communications & Navigation at Lockheed Martin, cited the three-satellite core mate completions as evidence of production momentum on the next-generation block.
