U.S. Air Force has given international communications and information technology company Harris Corp. a $29 million contract to deliver Harris Falcon III^® AN/PRC-117G multiband manpack radios. According to Harris, the AN/PRC-117G will provide the Air Force with lighter, more portable radio systems in support of network-enabled missions such as fires coordination and precision air support.

Harris said that the AN/PRC-117G is a first-of-its-kind radio that will provide individual airmen with interoperable voice and wideband data communications for use in ground-to-ground, ground-to-air and air-to-ground applications. The radio also delivers vast improvements in size, weight and power, along with connectivity to wider battlefield networks.

"The AN/PRC-117G is the ideal radio for Air Force teams, including those supporting joint combat missions," said Brendan O'Connell, president, Department of Defense business, Harris RF Communications, in a statement. "The radio enables users to communicate with other ground units as well as airborne platforms for enhanced air support and situational awareness. The AN/PRC-117G also provides the Air Force with wideband networking capabilities for emerging mission requirements," noted O’Connel.

The field-proven AN/PRC-117G, deployed by all branches of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), provides unprecedented situational awareness on the battlefield by delivering critical real-time information to warfighters on the move. Software-defined and upgradeable, the radio enables mobile ad-hoc networking, voice and high-bandwidth data applications. These capabilities support a growing number of network-enabled missions such as intelligence reporting and analysis, collaborative chat, route planning, MEDEVAC, convoy tracking and checkpoint biometrics, Harris said.

Furthermore, the contractor said that the AN/PRC-117G is the first wideband manpack radio system to receive both JTRS Software Communications Architecture and NSA Type-1 certification. 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 available to tactical units, asserted Harris.

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