Militaries receive improved broadband via Boeing

Boeing has upgraded the digital payload for its eighth wideband global SATCOM (WGS) satellite, providing almost double the bandwidth for military users.

The satellite will be used to meet increased demand for high-data communications within militaries around the world.

“We’ve been able to both increase the capability and reduce the per-unit cost with each new WGS satellite we’ve delivered, making WGS, by far, the most cost-effective asset for military communications,” said Dan Hart, Boeing vice president, Government Satellite Systems.

The US government was also able to achieve more than $150 million in savings for WGS-7 through WGS-10, via fixed-price block purchases and commercial operating practices.

During the past two years Boeing has made many improvements to its satellite products. This includes increasing bandwidth and capacity, incorporating independently steerable and shapeable beams that can point bandwidth to where it is most needed, deploying the world’s first all-electric propulsion satellites, and stacking and launching together two satellites.

WGS-8 was launched by a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket.

The WGS-9 satellite, funded through an international partnership between the United States and Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand, will be launched early next year. Boeing is on contract for a total of 10 WGS satellites.

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