Third US Air Force WGS Satellite Enters Service

The third wideband global SATCOM (WGS) military communications satellite developed by Boeing has entered service with the US Air Force.

The WGS-3 satellite will now be part of a constellation that will deliver significantly improved broadband communications to the US military forces and their allies in operations worldwide.

WGS-3 is the US Department of Defense’s highest-capacity satellite communications system.

The system will provide high-data-rate communications links to support delivery of full-motion video captured by unmanned aerial vehicles, e-mail, television and other quality-of-life services for US warfighters overseas.

It can interconnect X-band and Ka-band users, deliver service to new users within days, and be repositioned on orbit if necessary to meet changing mission requirements.

The WGS-3 is the final satellite in the block I series and will be located over the Atlantic Ocean.