The WGS program is actually a set of 13 kilowatt spacecraft based upon Boeing's model 702 commercial satellite. These satellites will support the USA's warfighting bandwidth requirements, supporting tactical C4ISR; battle management; and combat support needs. The program name has been changed for some reason from "Wideband Gapfiller Satellite" to "Wideband Global SATCOM," presumably to avoid correct suggestion that it fills an emerging gab. Readers should be aware that references to either title in documents, archives, or the media denote the same program.
Upon its first launch into geosynchronous orbit, WGS Flight 1 became the U.S. Department of Defense's highest capacity communication satellite. Each satellite can route 2.4 to 3.6 Gbps of data - providing more than 10 times the communications capacity of the predecessor DSCS 3 satellite. Indeed, One WGS satellite will provide more throughput than the entire Defense Service Communications Satellite(DSCS) constellation currently on station. Using reconfigurable antennas and a digital channelizer, WGS also offers added flexibility to tailor its coverage areas, and to connect X-band and Ka-band users anywhere within the satellite's field of view. Unlike programs like AEHF or T-SAT, however, WGS offers wideband communications that are "unprotected" against jamming and nuclear effects.
