Lockheed Martin’s Space System Co. in Newtown Township has been awarded a $238 million U.S. Air Force contract to produce two more satellites for the next generation Global Positioning System, also known as GPS III.

The satellites covered by the contract are the third and fourth on the program. Lockheed Martin received a similar contract in May 2008 for the first two GPS III satellites, with the opportunity to build 10 more. The first satellite  is scheduled to launch in 2014.

The GPS III satellites are bought and paid for by the military, but civilians will benefit, too, when they use their vehicle navigation systems and other devices.

“The government has mapped an extremely sensible acquisition strategy for GPS III and we are focusing on executing the program to deliver these much-needed capabilities to billions of users around the word,” Mark Valerio, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Surveillance and Navigation Systems line of business, said in a statement. “As we produce more GPS III satellites, we aim to continually reduce the cost and cycle time of each space vehicle to ensure we deliver the greatest value to the Air Force.”