Telecom Lead America: Harris Corporation has won a $75
million contract – with an initial delivery order of $8 million – for its
Falcon III AN/PRC-117G multiband manpack radios from the U.S. Air Force.
Harris received the contract and order in the third
quarter of fiscal year 2012.
Utilizing AN/PRC-117G radios, the Air Force will provide
next-generation wideband tactical communications to combat controllers and
other ground personnel. The radios enable mission-critical voice and data
applications at the tactical edge, supporting network-enabled missions such as
close-air support, precision fires, MEDEVAC and collaborative chat.
The AN/PRC-117G radio system addresses growing Air Force
requirements for multiband, multimode radios that deliver secure access to
voice, video and data in real time. The radio provides critical real-time
information to warfighters on the move and in the air to achieve unprecedented
situational awareness on the battlefield,” said George Helm, president,
Department of Defense business, Harris RF Communications.
The AN/PRC-117G supplies mobile ad-hoc networking, as
well as voice and data applications. These capabilities support network-enabled
missions such as intelligence reporting and analysis, route planning, MEDEVAC,
convoy tracking, and checkpoint biometrics.
At about half the size of previous manpack radios, the
AN/PRC-117G delivers improvements in power, as well as size and weight.
Harris claims that the AN/PRC-117G is the first JTRS
Software Communications Architecture-certified and NSA Type-1 certified
wideband manpack radio system. The integrated and NSA-certified High Assurance
Internet Protocol Equipment (HAIPE) networking encryption enables the
AN/PRC-117G to provide the highest level of information assurance to tactical
units.
Harris said it has shipped more than 16,000 AN/PRC-117G
radio systems to the U.S. DoD and allies such as Canada, the United Kingdom,
Germany, other NATO nations and Australia.
The radio was developed following the JTRS Enterprise
Business Model (EBM). The EBM encourages companies to develop next-generation
solutions in tactical communications using their own investment capital to
integrate JTRS waveform software. In doing so, the EBM stimulates competition,
increases innovation, and reduces cost through software re-use.
