Military Orders Harris Shortwave Tactical Radio Systems

by Doug Lung, 03.04.2010

The U.S. military recognizes the value of shortwave radio, as shown by a recent U.S. Marine Corps System Command order for $78 million of Falcon II AN/VRC-104 high frequency tactical radio systems for use in Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicles (M-ATVs).

"Harris continues to provide the most reliable and secure beyond line-of-sight radio technology to this critically important program," said Steve Marschilok, president of DOD business at Harris RF Communications. "Our radios deliver life-saving communication capabilities in the most dangerous of missions for all types of MRAP vehicles."

The AN/VRC-104 is a vehicular transceiver/amplifier that includes the AN/FRC-150(C), a Type-1 high-frequency manpack radio. The Harris Falcon II radios [PDF] are software-defined tactical radio systems supporting the U.S. military's Joint Tactical Radio System requirements. The system is capable of data rates up to 9.6 kbps.