Marine Corps picks HF radio systems from L3Harris that offer NSA Type-1 encryption for information security
QUANTICO MARINE BASE, Va. – U.S. Marine Corps communications experts needed HF manpack and vehicular radios with National Security Agency (NSA)-certified Type-1 encryption. They found their solution from the L3Harris Technologies Inc. Communications Systems segment in Rochester, N.Y.
Officials of the Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico Marine Base, Va., announced a $383.2 million five-year contract to L3Harris on Tuesday for RF-300H-MP manpack radios; RF-300H-MP vehicle-mount radios; and RF-300H-MP radio transit cases.
The RF-300H-MP, part of the L3Harris Falcon III radio family, operates in the high-frequency band between 2 and 30 MHz. It can achieve worldwide radio coverage when propagation conditions are right by bouncing RF signals off the ionosphere.
NSA Type-1 encryption, one of the most stringent information security standards in the U.S., is for cryptographically securing classified U.S. Government information. It encrypts and decrypts classified and sensitive national security information when appropriately keyed, and is for the most stringent protection requirements. It also is among the difficult and costly encryption certifications to obtain for U.S. defense contractors.
Related: Harris wins contract to provide Special Operations forces with new manpack radio
This contract includes radio ancillaries, provisioning kits, documentation for HF radio systems, and instructor training.
L3Harris introduced the RF-300H wideband manpack radio system in early 2017 to enable warfighters to use wideband HF to transmit data files beyond-line-of-sight.
The HF radio offers a tenfold increase in data rates and reduced size and weight over then-current manpack radios, and is compatible with more than 100,000 L3Harris Falcon II legacy HF radio units deployed worldwide, company officials say.
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The RF-300H is a small, lightweight, and fast wideband manpack radio designed to improve HF tactical communications by transmitting high-level security images, maps, and other large data files from beyond-line-of-sight environments.
The RF-300H delivers data as much as 10 times faster than the AN/PRC-150(C) it is designed to replace, L3Harris officials say. It provides an alternative to satellite communications (SATCOM) for beyond line-of-sight voice and data communications and also features either a commercial GPS or a selective availability anti-spoofing module.
On this contract L3Harris will do the work in Rochester, N.Y., and should be finished by March 2025. For more information contact L3Harris Communications Systems online at www.harris.com, or Marine Corps Systems Command at www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
