Harris Corporation receives $9.4m order from USAF

Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company, has received a $9.4 million order from the US Air Force for additional Falcon III AN/PRC-117G multiband manpack radio systems. The Air Force is acquiring the AN/PRC-117G in support of emerging applications in situational awareness, intelligence and analysis and real-time battlefield collaboration.

The field-proven AN/PRC-117G will provide Air Force personnel with unprecedented situational awareness through wideband networking of the battlefield. The software-defined, upgradeable AN/PRC-117G delivers critical real-time information to warfighters on the move and their commanders via a man-portable radio system with significantly reduced size and weight. The AN/PRC-117G platform enables 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 JTRS Software Communications Architecture-certified and NSA Type-1 certified wideband manpack radio system. 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 to tactical units.
"Widely deployed by all branches of the Department of Defense, the Falcon III AN/PRC-117G is providing the DoD with the battlefield networking solution it needs for the current challenges of warfare," said Brendan O'Connell, president, Department of Defense business, Harris RF Communications. "Successfully fielded across Operation Enduring Freedom, the AN/PRC-117G addresses the full range of networking capabilities while enabling the mission-critical requirements of the future."

The Falcon III AN/PRC-117G and other Falcon III radios have been adopted by the US Department of Defense, federal agencies and key allies such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, other NATO countries and Australia. In 2010, C4ISR Journal named the AN/PRC-117G as a Big 25 award winner in the category of network systems, recognizing the technology for having "a significant impact in defeating terrorists, preventing attacks, and enabling troops to make the right decisions on the battlefield."

The development of the AN/PRC-117G manpack radio has followed the US Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program's Enterprise Business Model (EBM). The EBM encourages companies to develop next-generation solutions in tactical communications using their own investment capital. In doing so, the EBM encourages competition, increases innovation, reduces costs and speeds development of important capabilities.

Source: Harris