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Washington, July 17: The US Air Force said today it planned to stick with a single contractor for all three satellite batches to be bought for an enhanced Global Positioning System navigation tool known as GPS III.

Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, respectively the Pentagon's No. 1 and No. 2 suppliers, are competing for a multibillion-dollar deal to refurbish the system used for everything from precision-guided weapons to air traffic control to hiking directions.

At issue initially is a potential $1.8 billion contract for the first eight ''Block A'' GPS III satellites to provide increased accuracy to users worldwide, compliments of the Pentagon.

GPS satellites, in one of six earth orbits, circle the globe every 12 hours beaming navigation and precision timing signals critical to mapping, tsunami and earthquake monitoring, business transaction authentication and modern warfare.

The Air Force formally invited bids last week for the first satellites, describing them as a foundation for enhancements to a system designed to start operating in 2018.

The proposals, due Aug. 27, are expected to lead to a winner-takes-all contract award by late December to start launches in 2013, the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center said in an e-mailed reply to queries.

The acquisition strategy ''envisions a long-term relationship with a single prime'' contractor for eight satellites in the first batch, eight in the second and 16 in a third, said Tonya Racasner, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles-based center.

The second and third GPS III satellite awards ''will depend on good contractor performance,'' Racasner said.

GPS III's first increment is to feature up to 10 times greater signal power than previous configurations, boosting its resistance to jamming, the Air Force said.

In addition, the new constellation eventually will be cross-linked, allowing system updates from a single ground station instead of waiting for each satellite to pass in view of a ground antenna.

A total of 18 satellites are required for initial operating capability in 2018, with 24 needed for full operation, Racasner said.

GPS III will incorporate a new civil signal making it interoperable with Europe's coming Galileo system as well as a military signal called the M-code for the stepped-up anti-jamming capability.

Since 1983, the Air Force has provided civilian GPS signals worldwide without interruption, Col Mark Crews, the system's chief engineer, wrote in the March issue of High Frontier, an Air Force Space Command publication. He said the United States and 46 other nations enjoyed global access to GPS military signals.

The system is operated and controlled by the Air Force Space Command for the Defense Department.

Lockheed Martin said in a statement last week that GPS III was one of its major focus areas. Lockheed's teammates on the project include ITT Corp and General Dynamics Corp.

Lockheed is the prime contractor for an update of the current system known as GPS IIR, which includes 20 satellites to improve navigation accuracy and provide longer autonomous satellite operation than current GPS satellites.

Boeing, which has not yet named publicly its chief subcontractors, said today it had produced 43 GPS satellites to date.

Reuters