The U.S. Air Force is paying Boeing $182 million to lay the groundwork for a seventh wideband military communications satellite to route video, voice and data messages to deployed troops, the company announced Monday.

Artist's concept of a WGS satellite. Credit: Boeing

The new spacecraft would join the Block 2 series of Wideband Global SATCOM satellites, an upgraded fleet of communications birds to follow up on three first-generation platforms launched between 2007 and 2009.

WGS 7 is part of a fresh follow-on contract for Block 2 satellites that could bring the total WGS constellation to 12 members.

"In a time of budgetary pressures, the award of this contract signifies the high-priority need of U.S. warfighters around the world for responsive and robust wideband communications," said Air Force Col. Don Robbins, WGS group commander.

The three WGS satellites already in space operate over the Pacific, Middle East and Atlantic regions, sending maps and data to troops on the battlefield, relaying video from unmanned aerial reconnaissance drones, and broadcasting television and Internet services to ships at sea.

"(The contract) also recognizes the outstanding service being provided to our warfighters every day by the three on-orbit WGS Block 1 satellites already fielded by the Air Force and Boeing team," Robbins said in a statement.

Boeing has already received approval to build three second-generation WGS satellites for launch in 2012 and 2013. The Australian government is financing one of the new satellites.

The $182 million award unveiled Monday covers one-time start-up activities and the procurement of long-lead spacecraft parts, according to Boeing.

The Block 2 follow-on contract includes options for five more spacecraft, ultimately bringing the total constellation to 12 satellites if all the options are exercised, according to Robert Pickard, a Boeing spokesperson.

The total contract value for the six approved WGS satellites is $1.8 billion, Pickard told Spaceflight Now.

"It is imperative that we address the warfighter's continuing need for high-capacity communications in a timely, cost-effective manner," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems.

Each WGS spacecraft has 10 times the capacity of a single predecessor satellite, part of a network called the Defense Satellite Communications System, or DSCS.

The WGS satellites are based on the high-power Boeing 702 platform to provide X-band and Ka-band communications services from a perch 22,300 miles above Earth.