Harris announces USAF Falcon III radio order

Harris Corporation has announced that it has received an order from the US Air Force (USAF) for the Falcon III multiband, multi-mission handheld radio. The contract, worth $6.5 million, was announced 21 August 2012.

According to Harris, the USAF is acquiring the Falcon III AN/PRC-152 to provide line-of-sight communications to civil engineering teams for a range of ground-based missions, such as fire and emergency management and explosive ordinance disposal. The radios are being acquired via the Consolidated Single Channel Handheld Radios Project through the Joint Programme Executive Office Joint Tactical Radio System (JPEO JTRS).

The AN/PRC-152 is the most widely fielded NSA Type-1 certified, JTRS SCA-certified handheld radio, with more than 160,000 units deployed worldwide. The radio provides capabilities such as SINCGARS interoperability, ultra high-frequency (UHF) ground-to-ground line-of-sight communications, close-air support and programmable encryption. It is part of the broader Falcon III family of radios, designed to addresses current operational and emerging requirements for voice and wideband data networking on the battlefield.

Harris said the AN/PRC-152 was developed using the JTRS Enterprise Business Model, which encourages companies to develop next-generation solutions in tactical communications using their own investment capital to integrate JTRS waveform software, stimulating competition, increasing innovation, and reducing costs through software re-use.