Harris has secured a contract to deliver additional Falcon III AN/PRC-117G multiband manpack tactical communication systems to the US Air Force (USAF).

Under the terms of $10.8m contract, the company will supply an undisclosed number of AN/PRC-117G radios to provide USAF personnel with enhanced capabilities for tactical communications.

Harris RF Communications Department of Defense business president George Helm said the radio are designed to offer improved real-time voice and data communications to the Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) and other air force personnel.

Helm said: "This will lead to greater situational awareness, which is critical for forward-deployed combat controllers.

”Our radio is combat proven and widely fielded in support of the DoD’s emerging tactical network."

The AN/PRC-117G is a software-defined and upgradeable voice and data platform, developed to provide operators with unprecedented battlefield situational awareness by connecting them to the Global Information Grid (GIG) in the 30MHz to 2GHz frequency range.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

Operating on a single standard battery, the radio provides mission-critical voice and data applications to soldiers at the tactical edge, besides supporting network-enabled missions, such as close-air support, precision fires, medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) and collaborative chat.

AN/PRC-117G is the first joint tactical radio system (JTRS) software communications architecture-certified and NSA Type-1 certified wideband manpack radio and also supports future upgrade to the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW).

More than 22,000 AN/PRC-117G radio systems have been delivered to date by the company to the US military and several Nato members.

The radio has also been used by the US as a secure wideband tactical networking radio during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan since 2009.