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.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
You may also like
More from Digital Battlespace
-
![Australia looks towards space with force restructure, investment and training]()
Australia looks towards space with force restructure, investment and training
Australia is looking to improve its presence in space with a focus on communications and creating a dedicated segment of its defence forces committed to the domain.
-
![EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI]()
EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI
The Portuguese company’s naval communications system is in service across more than a dozen countries. It has turned to its home nation for support in developing a new vehicle based C2 system.
-
![Chess Dynamics successfully demonstrates Vision4ce AI-driven tracker]()
Chess Dynamics successfully demonstrates Vision4ce AI-driven tracker
The Vision4ce Deep Embedded Feature Tracking (DEFT) technology software is designed to process video and images by blending traditional computer vision with artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to present actionable information from complex environments.
-
![Wave Relay devices cleared for security use on commercial systems in industry trend]()
Wave Relay devices cleared for security use on commercial systems in industry trend
Persistent Systems has been cleared by National Security Agency (NSA) to transmit sensitive data on commercial networks. The devices are added to the NSA’s Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) component list which also includes other companies’ products providing the same security.
-
![UK teases cyber spending boost in Strategic Defence Review ahead of “imminent” release]()
UK teases cyber spending boost in Strategic Defence Review ahead of “imminent” release
The release of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) has been long promised as mid-year. It is possible it could be as early as 2 June although the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) continues to play its cards close to its chest.
-
![Intelsat emphasises SATCOM resilience for SOF in contested domains (video)]()
Intelsat emphasises SATCOM resilience for SOF in contested domains (video)
Intelsat outlines how its multi-orbit SATCOM architecture is enhancing connectivity and resilience for special operations forces operating in degraded and contested environments.
