The U.S. Navy has followed the Army in ordering Harris Corporation's next-gen radio system. (Department of Defense photo)

MELBOURNE, Fla., May 22 (UPI) -- Harris Corporation reports it will begin delivering its Falcon III Multi-channel Manpack tactical radio to the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command this fall.

Delivery of the system comes under an initial order for the next-generation system, which Harris calls the smallest, lightest and most capable two-channel manpack radio available on the market.


"The new Harris Multi-channel Manpack represents a quantum leap in tactical communications technology," said George Helm, president, Department of Defense business, Harris RF Communications. "It is a modular, software-defined radio that recognizes the battlefield is never static. With its two channels and expansion slot, it allows users to deploy the capabilities they need to be successful."

Harris' Falcon III Multi-channel Manpack was designed to specifically meet U.S. military requirements and can be used with the Mobile User Objective System military communications satellite without changes to its hardware. It hosts all required U.S. government wideband and narrowband waveforms, supports multi-channel cross-banding and uses only one battery.

Harris did not disclose the value of the contract nor the number of units that will be delivered.