Design Review of Wideband Global Satellite Communications Program Completed

The Space Systems Command announced that its Wideband Global SATCOM 11+ program has successfully completed a Critical Design Review, which involved evaluations to ensure optimal capability is delivered to the warfighter. The program has been given a five-year deadline, in hopes of delivering results faster than legacy WGS satellites programs, the SSC said Tuesday.

In a statement following the five-day review, the command said that the goal was to deliver complex cutting-edge capabilities to gain a competitive edge against adversaries and WGS-11+ serves as a model for how to hasten the acquisitions process. The event was participated in by officials of the Department of Defense, Space Force, Army as well as senior SSC leaders.

The SSC said that in view of the COVID-19 situation, some of the participants attended the evaluation virtually. The WGS-11+ program office collaborated with Boeing program partners to produce a hybrid CDR with a virtual option and limited in-person attendance.

Col. Matt Spencer, SSC Geosynchronous Earth Orbit and Polar Division senior materiel leader, said that the WGS-11+ program is part of SSC’s mission to continuously deliver next-generation capabilities to warfighters before they actually need them. With the CDR complete, the program can now move ahead to deliver the latest commercial technology to meet the military’s objectives in space.

SSC is the Space Force field command tasked to rapidly identify, prototype and field resilient space capabilities for joint warfighters. The Command said it delivers sustainable joint space warfighting capabilities to defend the nation and its allies while disrupting adversaries in the contested space domain.