LORAL DEVELOPS KEY MAJOR SOFTWARE FOR NEW GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM SATELLITES.

GAITHERSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 1995--Loral's new, major softwar system to control the orbit and direct operations for the next breed of Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation satellites has completed its functional qualification test and been declared a success by the U.S. Air Force.

The system developed by Loral Federal Systems-Gaithersburg, a division of the Loral Corporation (NYSE: LOR), has passed a 22- day formal test in which Loral engineers and Air Force GPS operators verified that the ground control software met all but seven of 2,492 program requirements for the new GPS Block IIR satellites. The software met 99.7 percent of the program requirements, while being delivered ahead of the schedule committed to more than two years ago, and also below the planned costs, demonstrating Loral's continued management focus on outstanding performance and meeting commitments. Completing the ground control software is an important step because it enables other Block IIR activities to proceed on schedule and also provides continued GPS navigation service for the worldwide user community. Air Force operators will now use the new ground system-- called Operational Release 6.A (OR6.A)-- to rehearse IIR launches, practicing the commanding functions for establishing satellite orbit and verifying the accuracy of navigation data. By early 1996, operators will use the new OR6.A software to control the current fleet of 24 satellites. The new, more advanced replenishment vehicles will be launched in 1996.

In partnership with the Air Force, Loral developed, integrated and tested the additional 130,000 new software instructions, nearly all in the Jovial and Ada programming languages, that comprise the ground system. This was accomplished by Loral's unique approach to software developments by splitting a project into small, manageable chunks among Integrated Product Teams (IPT), while still maintaining a strong, central management focus.

GPS satellites provide navigation data that keeps military and civilian vehicles, ships and aircraft on course and delivers weapons to targets with a high degree of accuracy. The OR6.A system will provide the Air force with new functionality and capability in operating the GPS network. One new feature will allow controllers to program the spacecraft's computers from the ground and add new mission capability while it is in orbit.

Loral Federal Systems-Gaithersburg developed the GPS Operational Control segment and has been the ground systems contractor since 1980. Loral is competing for the Air Force's GPS Operational Control Segment Support contract, which will sustain the current ground system and upgrade it to lower cost, open-systems technology. Loral is also teamed with Lockheed- Martin in competition for the Air Force's Block IIF procurement to provide the next generation GPS satellite and ground system.

Loral Corporation, headquartered in New York City, is a high- technology company that primarily concentrates in defense electronics, communications, space and systems integration.

CONTACT: Thad Madden, 301/240-6356