Harris’ Falcon III® Manpack’s So Good It’s First To Be Certified

[SatNNews] “Field-proven with more than 20,000 radios shipped, the Product enables unprecedented situational awareness through wideband networking of the battlefield and delivering critical real-time information to warfighters on the move.”

Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) has received National Security Agency Type-1 certification to implement the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) in the Harris Falcon III® AN/PRC-117G multiband manpack tactical radio. This marks the first-ever fielding of Type-1 radios utilizing SRW.

SRW was developed by the DoD’s Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program to enable the digital battlefield by providing warfighters at the tactical edge with voice, data and mobile ad-hoc networking capabilities. Harris has been providing Type-1 certified wideband tactical communications systems to the DoD for more than four years.

“Harris is proud to deliver the first Type-1 certified implementation of the JTRS Soldier Radio Waveform. This is a major investment that underscores our ongoing commitment to open-standard wideband waveforms that enable networking at the tactical edge,” said Dana Mehnert, group president, Harris RF Communications. “SRW’s availability in the Harris AN/PRC-117G broadens the radio’s interoperability with current radios and ensures compatibility with future radio platforms operating JTRS waveforms. We commend the U.S. Army and JTRS program for their support of competition in tactical radio development and look forward to bringing continued innovation to the field on behalf of the warfighter.”

Harris invested its own funds to port, integrate and validate SRW for fielding through the JTRS program Enterprise Business Model (EBM), in coordination with the JTRS Network Enterprise Domain. The EBM encourages companies to invest their own capital to develop next-generation solutions in tactical communications that integrate JTRS waveform software. In doing so, the EBM stimulates competition, increases innovation, and reduces costs through software re-use. The AN/PRC-117G has successfully demonstrated interoperability with multiple vendor platforms and capability to communicate real-time voice and data using SRW as part of the JTRS Interoperability Quicklook laboratory test.

“Certification and fielding of SRW on the Harris’ AN/PRC-117G radio strongly validates the ability of the JTRS Enterprise Business Model to enable increased competition and innovation within the defense tactical networking industry, allowing greater flexibility and improved affordability in fielding of JTRS capabilities,“ according to the JTRS Network Enterprise Domain Program Manager.

The Harris Falcon III AN/PRC-117G is the first wideband manpack radio system with a JTRS-certified Software Communications Architecture and NSA Type-1 certified information security. Field-proven with more than 20,000 radios shipped, the AN/PRC-117G enables unprecedented situational awareness through wideband networking of the battlefield and delivering critical real-time information to warfighters on the move. The AN/PRC-117G supports a growing number of network-enabled missions such as intelligence reporting and analysis, collaborative chat, route planning, MEDEVAC, convoy tracking and checkpoint biometrics and was specifically designed to host advanced government waveforms.

Harris RF Communications is the supplier of secure radio communications and embedded high-grade encryption solutions for military, government and commercial organizations. The company’s Falcon® family of software-defined tactical radio systems encompasses manpack, handheld and vehicular applications. Falcon III is the next generation of radios supporting the U.S. military’s Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) requirements, as well as network-centric operations worldwide. Harris RF Communications is also a leading supplier of assured communications® systems and equipment for public safety, utility and transportation markets — with products ranging from the most advanced IP voice and data networks to portable and mobile single- and multiband radios.