In the not-so-distant past, satellites had to be worked with the use of cumbersome equipment such as satellite dishes and so forth. Fast forward into the future and now the military can access satellites with only a handheld. Satellite communication ((SATCOM)) with the handheld transmitter is now a reality.

Communications satellites are used for military communications applications, such as Global Command and Control Systems. Examples of military systems that use communication satellites are the MILSTAR, the DSCS, and the FLTSATCOM of the United States, NATO satellites, United Kingdom satellites (for instance Skynet), and satellites of the former Soviet Union. India has launched its first Military Communication satellite GSAT-7, its transpinders operate in UHF, F, C and Ku band bands.

The Wideband Global SATCOM system (WGS) is a high capacity satellite communications system planned for use in partnership by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and the Australian Department of Defence.

On Aug. 23, 2010, Boeing was awarded an Air Force contract worth $182 million to begin work on the seventh WGS satellite. The new spacecraft is being procured under the WGS Block II follow-on contract. The contract will ultimately include options for production of up to six WGS satellites.