[6][7][8] The United States' Global Positioning System (GPS) reached Full Operational Capability on 17 July 1995,[9] completing its original design goals.

Raytheon was awarded the Next Generation GPS Operational Control System (OCX) contract on 25 February 2010.

The propellant and pressurant tanks are manufactured by Orbital ATK from lightweight, high-strength composite materials.

[18] In March 2017, the U.S. General Accounting Office stated "Technical issues with both the GPS III satellite and the OCX Block 0 launch control and checkout system have combined to place the planned March 2018 launch date for the first GPS III satellite at risk".

[23] On 21 September 2016, the U.S. Air Force exercised a US$395 million contract option with Lockheed Martin for the ninth and tenth Block III space vehicles, expected to be available for launch by 2022.

The original plan stated that until the new OCX (Block 1) system is in place, the signal would consist of a default message ("Type 0") that contains no navigational data.

All satellites capable of transmitting the L2C signal (all GPS satellites launched since 2005) began broadcasting pre-operational civil navigation (CNAV) messages in April 2014, and in December 2014 the U.S. Air Force started transmitting CNAV uploads on a daily basis.

All satellites capable of transmitting the L5 signal (all GPS satellites launched since May 2010)[50] began broadcasting pre-operational civil navigation (CNAV) messages in April 2014, and in December 2014 the Air Force started transmitting CNAV uploads on a daily basis.

[52] WRC-2000 added a space signal component to this aeronautical band so the aviation community can manage interference to L5 more effectively than L2.

L1C broadcasting started when GPS III Control Segment (OCX) Block 1 becomes operational, scheduled for 2022.

[43][18] The L1C signal will reach full operational status when being broadcast from at least 24 GPS Block III satellites, projected for the late 2020s.

Upon closer inspection, program managers realized that the addition of a large deployable antenna, combined with the changes that would be needed in the operational control segment, presented too great a challenge for the then existing system design.

[62] OCX features are being delivered to the United States Air Force in three separate phases, known as "blocks".

Factors leading to the breach include "inadequate systems engineering at program inception", and "the complexity of cybersecurity requirements on OCX".

[64] In October 2016, the Department of Defense formally certified the program, a necessary step to allow development to continue after a critical breach.

[67] The U.S. Air Force accepted the delivery of OCX Block 0 in November 2017, and is used it to prepare for the first GPS launch in December 2018.

[18] In November 2016, the GAO reported that OCX Block 1 had become the primary cause for delay in activating the GPS III PNT mission.

The OCX Block 3F contract, valued at $228 million, was awarded to Raytheon Intelligence and Space on 30 April 2021.

The United States Space Force awarded the US$96 million Contingency Operations contract in February 2016.