The United States Space Forces (USSF) has recently chosen a manufacturer for the twelfth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) communications satellite. At the beginning of March 2024, the 439.6 million USD contract was awarded to the Boeing company.
The WGS satellite system is operated by the Space System Command of the USSF and delivers vital high-capacity, secure, and resilient communications capabilities to the US military and its allies. That satellite constellation is characterised by responsive, steerable, capacious beams that provide assured connectivity via the Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES) ground system and enhanced anti-jam communications by combining the jam-resistant Protected Tactical Waveform with antenna nulling in the Ka band.
According to Boeing, the anti-jam capability of the company´s new Protected Tactical Satcom Prototype payload will also be integrated on WGS-12, providing a second Protected Wideband Satellite to the US military, as well as expanding anti-jam tactical communications capacity for the United States and its allies to operate in multiple contested theatres.
´We are proud to be a mission partner and are ready to continue providing protected tactical communications to the warfighter´, said Michelle Parker, vice president of Space Mission Systems. ´Like WGS-11, the 12th WGS satellite will provide critical capabilities to our military with over 1,500 individually steerable, shape able beams in the Ka band, ensuring tactical forces have resilient communications´.
At the very moment, Boeing is building the WGS-11 communication satellite at its El Segundo plant in California. The company assures that, by implementation of advanced prototyping and manufacturing techniques, the WGS-12 offers significant growth in system performance, providing high-data rate tactical communications in contested jamming environments.
Cover photo: Boeing rendering of the WGS-12. All photos and quotations © Boeing. Information from the Boeing Company press releases were used.
