The U.S. Space Force is looking to buy a 12th military satellite communication system to join the Wideband Global SATCOM constellation using defense appropriations for fiscal year 2023, SpaceNews reported Tuesday.
A Space Systems Command spokesperson was quoted by SpaceNews as saying Congress allocated an additional $442 for the WGS program, which has launched 10 satellites since 2007.
WGS prime contractor Boeing (NYSE: BA) received a $605 million contract in April 2019 to manufacture WGS-11. The company started its construction work on that system in 2022 and aims to complete the delivery sometime in 2024.
The latest version of the satellite platform is based on Boeing’s commercial 702X software-defined payload and designed with a phased array technology that works to produce hundreds of electronic beams at the same time.