Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company, has been awarded an $85 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to provide the U.S. Air Force with Falcon multiband manpack tactical radios and accessories.

In conjunction with the contract, Harris also received initial delivery orders of $33 million.

The Air Force will deploy the Falcon III® AN/PRC-117G across ground units to serve as its next-generation radio platform for tactical voice and wideband data communications.

The AN/PRC-117G will provide the Air Force with seamless connectivity to the Global Information Grid in support of a range of existing and emerging network-enabled missions.

“The Air Force will modernize its tactical communications around the wideband AN/PRC-117G, providing its personnel with enhanced situational awareness, ISR and command and control capabilities,” said George Helm, President, Department of Defense business, Harris RF Communications.

“This new IDIQ will allow the Air Force to address both current JTRS requirements as well as emerging interoperability requirements through an affordable, upgradeable, combat-proven platform. The USAF is rapidly advancing its tactical radio modernization program, taking full advantage of the JTRS-Certified AN/PRC-117G manpack radio available today,” Helm added.

The Falcon III AN/PRC-117G is the world’s most widely fielded next-generation radio, combining line-of-sight, beyond-line-of-sight and wideband communications capabilities in a single lightweight package. The radio provides enhanced situational awareness of the battlefield by connecting warfighters to the Tactical Internet.

Harris has shipped more than 25,000 AN/PRC-117G radios to all branches of the U.S. military as well as over a dozen allies including Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Poland and several other countries in NATO. The radio is combat proven and exhaustively tested in field exercises, laboratory environments and has been employed as a secure wideband tactical networking radio in Operation Enduring Freedom since 2009.