Boeing forecasts $2 bil. in U.S. military satellite orders

Boeing Co. expects at least $2 billion of orders for military communications satellites stemming from a Defense Department contract announced last week.

The U.S. Air Force said Aug. 19 that it awarded a $182 million contract to Boeing to buy parts for a Wideband Global Satcom satellite used for military communications. That may lead to orders for as many as six new satellites, Ken Torok, a vice president at Chicago-based Boeing's Space and Intelligence Systems unit, said in a telephone interview.

Those would add to a 2007 contract for six of the Wideband satellites that are used by the U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy for tactical military communications and also allow soldiers on the battlefield to access the Internet. The company has delivered three, and the Air Force is looking to order up to six more to replace older systems, Torok said.

"One Wideband has 10 times the capacity," Torok said. "The difference is like going from dial-up to broadband for your Internet."

The satellites have a higher capacity than any other owned by the U.S. Defense Department, Chicago-based Boeing said in a statement today.

The Air Force's order "signifies the high-priority need" for satellite-based communications systems, Air Force Colonel Don Robbins, commander of the Wideband Global Satcom services, said in the statement.