Harris Corporation has been awarded $419 million contract for AN/PRC-117G multiband tactical radios

Harris Corporation has been awarded a $419 million Basic Purchasing Agreement contract to supply the U.S. Army with Falcon III AN/PRC-117G multiband tactical manpack radios and vehicular power-amplifier adapter systems. The initial delivery order under the contract is valued at $165 million for manpack and vehicular radio systems and support services. Radio systems from this order will be deployed by the Army for missions worldwide to provide next-generation, high-speed tactical satellite and voice-and-data communications. "We are pleased to continue providing the Army with our most advanced tactical manpack radio," said Dana Mehnert, Group President, Harris RF Communications. "The AN/PRC-117G has comprehensive multimission capabilities to address the full spectrum of the Army's current tactical communications requirements. This radio is upgradeable to meet future JTRS requirements such as the Mobile User Objective System for satellite communications". The field-proven AN/PRC-117G manpack radio is about half the size of currently fielded multiband systems and offers an extended frequency range of 30 MHz to 2 GHz. The radio supports requirements such as streaming video, imagery, biometrics, logistics and other data-intensive applications. The AN/PRC-117G is the first JTRS-approved and NSA Type-1 certified manpack radio system. With its fully integrated and NSA-approved High Assurance Internet Protocol Equipment (HAIPE) waveform, the AN/PRC-117G manpack interfaces seamlessly to the Government's Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet). This capability enables direct classified calls and data exchanges between Pentagon commanders and units at the lowest tactical levels of the battlefield. The radio is Type-1 certified by NSA to carry voice-and-data traffic up to and including Top Secret levels. It's compliant with the Department of Defense Crypto Modernization Program and uses the Sierra II programmable encryption module. The radio has been fielded by all services of the U.S. Department of Defense. Operating on the JTRS Software Communications Architecture, the AN/PRC-117G manpack adheres to the DoD's open-standards approach to radio technology, allowing easy integration of pre-planned upgrades that include the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS). MUOS is the DoD's next-generation satellite for high-speed, broadband tactical communications.