The Air Force has laid out requirements for its $1.07 billion Wideband Gapfiller Satellite program, stipulating that the Boeing contract has options for a second block of satellites, reports Dow Jones Newswires. Each block will have three satellites and the second block will provide for more bandwidth access to spy planes and other aircraft. Plans call for the first WBG satellite to launch in 2007.
The Air Force’s BACN may be cooked—the service plans to retire its entire E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node fleet in fiscal 2028 and equip aircraft to use satellite communications instead.