EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Oct. 6, 2009 — Boeing has been informed by the U.S. Air Force that the second Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite began supporting on-the-ground warfighters on Aug. 18, providing urgently needed communications services to U.S. and allied forces in the Middle East and central Asia.

The Boeing-built WGS-2 satellite was launched on April 3 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and handed over to the Air Force on June 15 for extensive on-orbit testing.  The first WGS satellite began supporting U.S. and allied operations across the entire Pacific in April 2008 and has met and exceeded the Air Force’s expectations.

“With its outstanding capacity, operational flexibility and performance, WGS is fast becoming the satellite communications workhorse for the U.S. armed forces,” said Col. Bill Harding, Vice Commander of the Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing at the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles. “The smooth handover of WGS-2 earlier this summer and the successful start of operations clearly demonstrate the government and contractor team’s effective plan for the WGS system.”