The AN/PRC-163 Handheld radio is one of two types being provided under the contract. (Photo: L3Harris)
L3 Harris will supply AN/PRC-158 Leader and AN/PRC-163 Handheld radios to the US Army under a deal worth almost US$300 million through the force’s HMS programme.
This award follows similar production orders from 2023 totalling more than $247 million under the same indefinite delivery/indefinite quality contract.
The US Army has also selected L3Harris to deliver Mobile User Objective System-capable AN/PRC-158s for the service’s MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft systems and the CH-47 Chinook rotary-wing fleet as part of the Air-to-Ground Networking Radio programme.
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AN/PRC-158 and AN/PRC-163 radios can switch between Secure But Unclassified – Encrypted and high-assurance levels of encryption, enabling interoperability with coalition partners. It meets the latest NSA encryption and decryption standards for communications security and transmission security.
AN/PRC-158 covers the 30-2,500MHz frequency range and can run both narrowband and wideband waveforms, according to Shephard Defence Insight.
Designed for team, squad and platoon leaders, the AN/PRC-163 can transmit dual-channel voice, video and data through satellite communications and line-of-sight. The device also supports multiple Mobile Ad-hoc Networking options such as TSM-X and ANW2.
The radios underwent Initial Operational Test and Evaluation at Fort Bragg in January 2021 to ensure capability, and allowed L3 Harris to proceed with the full-rate production decision.
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