Intelsat S.A. announced in August 2010, that it has commenced construction of the Intelsat 27 satellite (IS-27). IS-27 was ordered in 2009 as an then unassigned satellite in a four satellite package. IS-27 had a hybrid C- and Ku-band design for media and network customers and was augmented with a 20 × 25 kHz channel UHF payload for use in government applications. IS-27 was to be placed in the Atlantic Ocean Region as a replacement for the Intelsat 805 satellite.

The IS-27 UHF hosted payload provides capability to complement the existing UFO (UHF Follow-On) and future MUOS (Multi-User Objective System) satellites. The payload supports DAMA and IW operations, and is digitally tunable and completely interoperable with existing terminals. The IS-27 UHF payload will be functionally equivalent to the Navy’s UFO-11 satellite.