Dutch to substantially boost C2 capability with planned $1.4 billion radio purchase
The AN/PRC-163 is in service with US Special Forces and has been approved for sale to the Netherlands. (Photo: L3Harris)
The radios to be bought are already widely used across several NATO countries, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Niger.
The Netherlands is set to buy US$1.4 billion of L3Harris radios under a Foreign Military Sales request approved by the US State Department and notified by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to the US Congress for its approval.
The deal is for five types of radios – AN/PRC-117G, AN/PRC-152A, AN/PRC-160, AN/PRC-163, AN/PRC-167 – and supporting equipment and services. The latter two radios include tactical key loaders, network encryptors, government and contractor technical assistance, spares and other related elements of logistics and programme support.
The AN/PRC-117G is a Type 1 multi-band, multi-mission radio with US/NATO standardised waveforms and wideband data capabilities. A member of the Falcon III family, it is a manpack tactical software-defined radio that provides wideband data capabilities and interoperability with fielded waveforms.
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The radio has already seen in service with the Netherlands and four other NATO countries, as well as Niger.
The AN/PRC-152 single-channel, multi-band, multi-mission handheld radio provides a transition to JTRS technology and is in service with Australia, Niger, five NATO members and other countries. If the deal goes ahead it will be the first of the type for the Netherlands.
The AN/PRC-160 is a Type 1-certified manpack HF SDR which offers beyond-line-of-sight communication in GPS-denied environments and offers a higher data rate than its predecessors.
The AN/PRC-163 is a multi-channel, handheld SDR already in service with the Netherlands and 1,300 have been ordered by the UK and 1,540 by the US. Selected by US Special Operations Command for its Special Operations Forces in 2015, the radio completed its Critical Design Review in October 2016.
The AN/PRC-167 is a dual-channel manpack radio that supports high-speed mobile ad-hoc network operations and has built-in GPS support and satellite communications capability. According to the manufacturer, it has been designed for dismounted and vehicular missions.
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