Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company, has introduced the Falcon Wideband Team Radio, the first true non-developmental solution to address requirements of the U.S. Army's Rifleman Radio and NettWarrior programs.

The new Falcon RF-330E delivers voice, data and situational awareness to the squad member and is the smallest and lightest soldier radio addressing the requirements of these key Department of Defense programs.

The RF-330E is a lightweight, wireless radio for connecting front-line soldiers to the tactical Internet to facilitate command and control. The radio delivers real-time position location information and multiple talk groups, while also supporting additional combat applications.

“The new Harris radio demonstrates that competition works. Given the opportunity by the Department of Defense (DoD), Harris developed a breakthrough team radio with significant performance improvements over the current JTRS program of record radio,” said George Helm, President, Department of Defense business, Harris RF Communications (photo).

“We also are investing in solutions for next-generation manpacks and vehicular wideband radios using this same commercially oriented business model, which is proven to deliver continuous innovation across our entire tactical radio portfolio,” Helm added.

The RF-330E is a non-Cryptographically Controlled Item that meets Type-1 Secret and Below information security requirements. The radio hosts the Soldier Radio Waveform, which delivers simultaneous voice, high-speed data and real-time position location information.

The RF-330E utilizes the same widely fielded battery and charging systems as the Harris Falcon III® AN/PRC-152A, easing the logistical burden, reducing sustainment costs, and lightening the soldier's load. The radio leverages Harris' expertise as the leading tactical radio provider to the U.S. Department of Defense, while taking advantage of the broad range of tactical radio accessories already available.

The RF-330E was introduced and demonstrated at the recent Army Expeditionary Warfighting Experiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. Soldiers deployed the radio during the exercise in a configuration supporting the Army NettWarrior End User Device.

Harris developed the RF-330E-TR under its commercial business model in response to the U.S. Army's request for non-developmental Rifleman Radio and NettWarrior solutions. The Army is now including compliant non-developmental solutions for these two programs, leveraging investments made by industry rather than spending the taxpayers' dollars.

“One of the strengths of our business model is our ability to listen to the user. Armed with invaluable feedback, we have developed a power-efficient radio that offers extended battery life for reduced total mission weight, and state-of-the-art network monitoring capabilities that provide the user with crucial information on radio and network status,” Helm concluded.