Boeing aims to accelerate its production of the 11th and 12th Wideband Global Satcom satellites as the U.S. military plans to enhance its space assets, SpaceNews reported Wednesday. The Chicago-based aerospace company will conduct the effort using the $600 million fund that Congress added into the Pentagon's 2018 budget. Rico …
Read More »Army Launches Northrop-Built WGS Satcom Training System
The U.S. Army has unveiled a Northrop Grumman-built training system designed to educate soldiers on the management and operations of the Wideband Global SATCOM satellite communications program. Northrop said Wednesday the Wideband Training and Certification System is accessible on workstations at the Army Cyber Center of Excellence in Fort Gordon, Georgia. WTCS …
Read More »Report: Boeing to Benefit From WGS Satellite Funding Under $1.3T Omnibus Measure
A $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill for fiscal 2018 would allocate approximately $600 million in funds to support the development of two new Wideband Global Satcom satellites for the Defense Department, Bloomberg Government reported Tuesday. The budget allocation for the WGS program will be a boon to Boeing, which has …
Read More »Inmarsat's Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch Talks Satcom as a Service, Wideband Global Satcom at Kratos Podcast
Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, senior vice president of government strategy and policy for Inmarsat Government, said in a Kratos Defense & Security Solutions podcast aired Wednesday that satellite communications as a service works to provide military and commercial users with a “full end-to-end“ communications capability. Cowen-Hirsch told Constellations podcast moderator John Gilroy that …
Read More »L3 Gets Air National Guard Contract for Satcom Terminals, Training Services
L3 Technologies has secured a contract to provide satellite communications terminals and on-site training services to the Joint Incident Site Communications Capability teams of the U.S. Air National Guard. The company said Monday it is scheduled to deliver 46 Hawkeye III Lite very small aperture terminals to JISCC groups in the fourth …
Read More »Universal Switching to Supply Data Distribution Systems for Canada WGS Program
General Dynamics has awarded Universal Switching a contract to provide data distribution for satellite command and control systems that will help connect Canada’s military to the Wideband Global SATCOM satellite constellation. Universal Switching said Aug. 22 it will supply its S64530 Digital RS-530 switching system to aid Canada’s participation in the WGS constellation, …
Read More »ETL Systems Delivers RF Equipment for Canada’s WGS Program
ETL Systems has delivered radio frequency equipment to General Dynamics to help connect Canada’s armed forces to the Wideband Global SATCOM satellite constellation. The RF equipment supports General Dynamics’ efforts to install seven anchor stations that will link Canada’s military communications infrastructure to WGS as part of the Mercury Global …
Read More »Boeing, Air Force Test Aircraft-Terminal Communications via Airborne Networking Tech
Boeing and the U.S. Air Force have demonstrated the capacity of an airborne networking system to facilitate and secure communications between multiple aircraft and ground stations. The company said Monday its Talon HATE networking system helped F-15C pilots share information via the military’s Link 16, Common Data Link and Wideband Global Satellite Communications System during a …
Read More »Inmarsat's Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch on Commercial Satcom Services’ Interoperability With Military Satcom
Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, senior vice president for government strategy and policy at Inmarsat, said in an interview aired Monday on Federal News Radio that commercial satellite communications services play a critical role in military communications amid delays and other challenges facing military satcom programs. Cowen-Hirsch told Federal Tech Talk host John Gilroy that a …
Read More »Report: Air Force to Release RFI on Commercial Satcom Tech
The U.S. Air Force will release a request for information on commercial satellite communications offerings for the military within the next few weeks, Space News reported Wednesday. Col. George Nagy of the office of the Defense Department‘s principal space adviser has said the Air Force began a $7.8 million Wideband Analysis of …
Read More »ULA’s Delta IV Rocket Launches 9th Boeing-Built WGS Military Comms Satellite Into Space
United Launch Alliance launched a Boeing-built satellite into orbit Saturday aboard a Delta IV rocket to provide military communications support for the U.S. military and six of the country’s allies. The ninth Wideband Global SATCOM satellite with updated digital channelizers that are designed to nearly double the bandwidth of earlier satellites in the WGS system, Boeing said …
Read More »ULA Postpones WGS-9 Military Satellite Launch to Fix Rocket Booster Glitch
United Launch Alliance has decided to postpone the scheduled March 8 launch of a follow-on Wideband Global Satcom satellite as the Lockheed Martin–Boeing joint venture works to resolve a first-stage booster glitch found on a Delta IV rocket during its prelaunch inspection. ULA said Saturday it now plans to launch the U.S. Air Force‘s WGS-9 satellite no earlier than …
Read More »Intelsat General's Skot Butler Talks Multi-Band Satcom Services, Air Force's Wideband Analysis of Alternatives
Skot Butler, president of Intelsat General, has said he thinks there will be a demand for multi-band satellite communications services within the Defense Department in an effort to provide users with more choices, Space News reported Tuesday. Butler told SpaceNews editor-in-chief Brian Berger in an interview that the U.S. Air Force's Wideband …
Read More »Inmarsat’s Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch Pitches Global Xpress Satellite Network Features for Govt Users
Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, a senior vice president at Inmarsat, has listed six attributes of the company’s Global Xpress commercial satellite network intended to help fulfill requirements of mobile government users. Cowen-Hirsch wrote in a blog post published Tuesday Global Xpress is a globally-available commercial wideband network that works to meet the U.S. government’s mobile and interoperable communication …
Read More »Newtec to Supply Satellite Modem for Canada’s Auror Aircraft Modernization Efforts
General Dynamics‘ Mission Systems-Canada subsidiary has awarded Newtec a contract to provide an ATR-sized airborne modem to Canada in support of the country’s efforts to modernize its CP-140 Aurora patrol aircraft fleet. Canada’s defense department will install Newtec’s MDM9000 Satellite Modem to the Aurora as part of the military’s Aurora Incremental Modernization Project Block IV program, Newtech …
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