Japan and Poland have signed new agreements with the United States giving the two countries access to the U.S. military’s Wideband Global Satcom satellite network, Space News reports.
According to the U.S. Space Force, the WGS network is considered to be the “backbone of the U.S. military’s wideband satellite communications capability” and is designed to provide global and high-performance connectivity to the Department of Defense, government agencies, NATO allies and other international partners.
Since 2008, the Space Force has launched 10 WGS satellites in the geostationary orbit supporting tactical forces in peacetime and military operations. Boeing serves as the prime contractor for the satellite program, which is managed and sustained by the Space Systems Command.
Lt. Col. Nicholas Yeung, chief of the capabilities development division of the SSC’s international affairs office, stressed the importance of international space programs, like WGS, in defense cooperation. “Alliances are vital as the U.S. and its allies face new threats from anti-satellite technologies being developed by Russia and China,” the official said during the recent Space Industry Days conference in Los Angeles.
This sentiment was echoed by Brig. Gen. Anthony J. Mastalir, commander of the USSF Indo-Pacific, who highlighted the need for strong alliances to deter adversarial threats. During a meeting hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies in Virginia, Mastalir cited partnership initiatives such as setting up the U.S. Space Forces Korea and shared plans to establish a U.S. Space Forces Japan by the end of the year to improve space cooperation in the region.
Japan and Poland join Australia, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Czech Republic and other NATO states that take advantage of the WGS system.