Boeing wins $440 million contract for 12th Wideband Global SATCOM satellite
Boeing has been building the US Space Force’s Wideband Global SATCOM. (Image: Boeing)
Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellites have been supporting the US DoD’s warfighting information exchange requirements, enabling execution of tactical C4ISR, battlefield management and combat support information.
Boeing will provide US Space Force’s Space Systems Command with a 12th Wideband Global SATCOM communications satellite (WGS-12) under a US$439.6 million contract awarded on 5 March.
The WGS constellation has been designed to deliver high-capacity, secure and resilient communications capabilities in contested jamming environments to the US military and its allies.
The WGS’s responsive, steerable, high-capacity beams will provide assured connectivity via the Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES) ground system. It will also provide enhanced anti-jam communications by combining the US military’s jam-resistant Protected Tactical Waveform with antenna nulling in the Ka band.
WGS satellites have been built on the proven Boeing 702 platform which uses xenon-ion propulsion capability.
The anti-jam capability of Boeing’s Protected Tactical Satcom Prototype payload will be integrated on WGS-12, providing a second Protected Wideband Satellite to the US military, and expanding anti-jam tactical communications capacity for US forces and allies to operate in contested theatres.
WGS-1 and WGS-2 were launched in October 2007 and April 2009. In February 2010 it was announced they had been accepted into service and were meeting or exceeding all mission requirements. The company has been recently building the 11th of the constellation.
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