Harris unveils Falcon Wideband Team Radio

Harris Corporation has unveiled its first true non-developmental solution to address requirements of the US Army's Rifleman Radio and NettWarrior programmes: the Falcon Wideband Team Radio. Called the Falcon RF-330E, the radio delivers voice, data and situational awareness to the squad member.

According to the company, the RF-330E is the smallest and lightest soldier radio addressing the requirements of the Rifleman Radio and NettWarrior programmes.

The RF-330E is a wireless radio for connecting front-line soldiers to the tactical Internet to facilitate command and control. The radio delivers real-time position location information and multiple talk groups, while also supporting additional combat applications.

George Helm, president, Department of Defense business, Harris RF Communications, said: ‘The new Harris radio demonstrates that competition works. Given the opportunity by the [Department of Defense], Harris developed a breakthrough team radio with significant performance improvements over the current JTRS programme of record radio. We also are investing in solutions for next-generation manpacks and vehicular wideband radios using this same commercially oriented business model, which is proven to deliver continuous innovation across our entire tactical radio portfolio.’

The RF-330E is a non-Cryptographically Controlled Item that meets Type-1 Secret and Below information security requirements. The radio hosts the Soldier Radio Waveform, which delivers simultaneous voice, high-speed data and real-time position location information. The radio utilises the same widely fielded battery and charging systems as the Harris Falcon III AN/PRC-152A, easing the logistical burden, reducing sustainment costs, and lightening the soldier’s load.

Harris said the RF-330E was introduced and demonstrated at the recent US Army Expeditionary Warfighting Experiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. Soldiers deployed the radio during the exercise in a configuration supporting the US Army NettWarrior End User Device.

Helm added: ‘One of the strengths of our business model is our ability to listen to the user. Armed with invaluable feedback, we have developed a power-efficient radio that offers extended battery life for reduced total mission weight, and state-of-the-art network monitoring capabilities that provide the user with crucial information on radio and network status.’