Harris receives $29m in orders from USAF

Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company, has received $29 million in orders from the US Air Force for Falcon III AN/PRC-117G multiband manpack radios. The AN/PRC-117G will provide the Air Force with lighter, more portable radio systems in support of network-enabled missions such as fires coordination and precision air support.

The AN/PRC-117G is a first-of-its-kind radio that will provide individual airmen with interoperable voice and wideband data communications for use in ground-to-ground, ground-to-air and air-to-ground applications. The radio also delivers vast improvements in size, weight and power, along with connectivity to wider battlefield networks.

"The AN/PRC-117G is the ideal radio for Air Force teams, including those supporting joint combat missions,'' said Brendan O'Connell, president, Department of Defense business, Harris RF Communications. "The radio enables users to communicate with other ground units as well as airborne platforms for enhanced air support and situational awareness. The AN/PRC-117G also provides the Air Force with wideband networking capabilities for emerging mission requirements."

The field-proven AN/PRC-117G, deployed by all branches of the US Department of Defense (DoD), provides unprecedented situational awareness on the battlefield by delivering critical real-time information to warfighters on the move. Software-defined and upgradeable, the radio enables mobile ad-hoc networking, voice and high-bandwidth data applications. These capabilities support a growing number of network-enabled missions such as intelligence reporting and analysis, collaborative chat, route planning, MEDEVAC, convoy tracking and checkpoint biometrics.

The AN/PRC-117G is the first wideband manpack radio system to receive both JTRS Software Communications Architecture and NSA Type-1 certification. With its fully integrated and NSA-certified High Assurance Internet Protocol Equipment (HAIPE) networking encryption, the AN/PRC-117G provides the highest level of information assurance available to tactical units.

Harris has shipped more than 10,000 AN/PRC-117G radios to the US 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.

Source: Harris