USMC Awards L3Harris $750M Deal for Falcon IV Radios

L3Harris Technologies has won a competitive 10-year, $750 million single-award indefinite-quantity/indefinite-delivery contract from the U.S. Marine Corps for multi-channel handheld and vehicular radio systems. Specifically, the Marines have selected the Falcon IV family of manpack and handheld radios, which already enjoys widespread acceptance in the Army, Special Operations Command, Air Force and a growing number of key allies, L3Harris said Thursday.

Chris Aebli, president of tactical communications at L3Harris, said the latest award extends a long and successful partnership with the Marines, adding that the company is committed to delivering and supporting battle-proven radios that provide secure and resilient communications to meet customers’ unique mission needs. He emphasized that the company’s leadership in software-defined communications architecture enables consistently meeting rigorous requirements for performance, size, weight and power, and security, including the National Security Agency crypto-modernization standards.

The Falcon IV AN/PRC-163 is being billed as the most advanced hand radio available. It provides a wide range of secure communications waveforms while simultaneously integrating voice and data communications, network routing and gateway functions.

Additionally, the radio’s software-defined architecture enables Marines to quickly add new waveforms and enhance capabilities to address evolving requirements. The radios offer “true resilience against peer adversary threats, which is critical to achieving the Marine Corps’ vision for Force Design 2030 and enabling Joint All-Domain Command and Control,” the company said in a statement.

L3Harris provides defense and commercial technologies across space, air, land, sea and cyber domains. The Florida-headquartered firm reports approximately $18 billion in annual revenue and employs some 47,000 people, with customers in more than 100 countries.